Way of the warrior
by mastermage
Summary: First story I ever wrote complete with miserable writing and plot. Read at your own risk. incomplete
1. WOTW1 Growing up revised

Way of the warrior  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.  
No money is made from this, nor do I have any.  
So please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
Tokyo 2 - Year 2004  
  
A four-year- Shinji is seen crying while his father is walking away.  
Little Shinji couldn't understand his parent's reasons, he only understood the elderly couple that was standing behind him was to take care of him. They were his aunt and uncle, but Shinji didn't really know them.  
They seemed nice enough, but he would miss his mom and dad.  
  
******************************  
  
Tokyo 2 - Year 2006  
  
Little Shinji wasn't very happy the last two years. He only saw his father annually when he visited his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death.  
The Elderly couple he was entrusted to may have housed him, but they never played with him or did anything fun. He was beginning to think that they didn't really like him.  
Today he asked if they would buy him a bike. They declined rather rudely.  
Shinji cried, but was ignored.  
Right now he was looking on as they pulled out of the garage.  
  
The next few seconds were right out of a movie: Down the street a big truck came careening on, not hitting his brakes when he saw the car pull out because the driver was obviously not watching the road.  
With a mighty boom the truck hit the little van, crunching it up and slamming it into the next building.  
Shinji ran out of the house and to his uncle and aunt . 'They have to be alive, please, let them be alive' ran through his young mind over and over again. However, when the car burst in flames he knew they were lost.  
He sacked down onto the sidewalk he was running on and started to cry.  
He was alone again.  
  
10 minutes later Shinji was shook out of his stupor when a police officer spoke to him. He asked him a lot of questions. The only one he could answer was if he knew the people who died.  
"They were my aunt and uncle, I don't have anyone else. I don't want to be alone, please help me!"  
  
****************************  
  
Officer Tanake smiled at the small child and reassured him they could find a new home for him in one of the orphanages.  
When the last word escaped his lips Shinji suddenly stopped crying and an expression of pure horror grew on his face.  
The next moment the little child was up and running into the crowd of bystanders, disappearing from instantly.  
  
They tried to find him, but after 4 days of searching nothing turned up and the search was stopped.  
  
********************************  
  
Shinji thought this nice man would watch after him, but instead he said they would put him into an orphanage.   
He didn't want to go there. His uncle always made him believe they would put him there if he wasn't a good boy.   
They also told him that the other children and caretakers would be mean to him and make him miserable.   
It was quite understandable that he was running like hell to get away from the man who wanted to out him there. He only stopped running when he was a good 3 miles away from home, the only thing he had being the clothes on his body....  
  
*******************************  
  
Tokyo 2 - Year 2008  
  
8-year-old Shinji was creeping down a dark hallway in an even darker apartment.  
The only thing on his mind was revenge, revenge for his friend Tsubasa.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
2 years ago, when he started living on the streets Tsubasa was the one who helped him.  
The first week Shinji tried to get by with begging, but he felt that he was slowly starving to death because people tended to avoid the likes of him. Not all of them, but most.  
That was when he started stealing. He started stealing small things like watches to exchange them for food with some dubious characters. He knew it was wrong, but as long as it would help him survive, so it was alright in his book  
On his third week on the street he was once again walking to the meeting point, only to be intercepted by two older boys around 8.   
They tried to beat him up to get his valuables and he was sure if they succeeded, he would have starved.  
However, as the tow older boys advanced on him a new voice called out.  
"Stop!" It stated with confidence.  
Of course when the boys saw the newcomer they didn't do that. Instead they advanced on him, leaving Shinji alone for the time being.  
The following minute Shinji could only watch in awe as the newcomer made short work of the bullies.  
  
Shinji was still sitting there unmoving when the newcomer offered him his hand with a friendly smile.  
"Come on kid, they are gone. You should really watch your step a bit more around here."   
  
Shinji nodded and took his hand. He thought he should do something for the first person who treated him nice these days and decided to offer to share today's catch with the stranger.  
"Thank you, my name is Shinji Ikari. What's yours?"   
  
The brown-haired boy smiled  
"Name's Tsubasa kid. I take it you don't know your way around here very much huh? Maybe I should hang out with you a bit, show you what goes on around here."  
  
Shinji nodded eagerly.  
"We can share dinner together, I will pay for both of us, as thanks for saving me!"  
  
Tsubasa's grin got even wider, showing his small fangs  
"Thanks kid, haven't had company in a long time. Come on, let's go."  
  
That evening their friendship was born. From that day on Shinji was 'living' near Tsubasa in the same alley. Tsubasa had lived on the streets for a good 2 years, ever since he was 6. He had good fighting skills), because he was trained by his father in various styles till he died in a plane crash, taking his mother with him.  
Ever since then Tsubasa had been living on the streets because he didn't want to go to his relatives or a discipline center.  
  
It wasn't long before Tsubasa started teaching Shinji what he knew. Shinji was, surprisingly enough, a quick learner.  
In return Shinji tried to teach Tsubasa the basics of music with a stolen pair of flutes,  
which was also going quite smoothly.   
  
It was around that time, when Tsubasa showed him some meditation techniques (he was really good for his age), that Shinji first noted something of about his surroundings, but only when meditating and really concentrating. At first he couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it felt like some kind of background noise that varied in intensity and feel. It was also a lot stronger near a person.  
One time, while he was meditating Tsubasa was trying a new piece with the flute.  
As the feeling once again returned he finally figured it out.   
  
At first, for a lack of better terms, the waves he was getting from Tusbasa were "happy" and "determined". When his good friend repeatedly failed to do it just right, the waves gradually changed from happy to frustrated, but the determination stayed. When he could see the frustration in Tsubasa's face the waves he got were nearly palpable, and when Tsubasa finally managed to do it, they suddenly cleared and where replaced with waves of pride.  
At that time Shinji was with Tsubasa for a good 6 months and had learned enough from living on the street to know his ability was indeed unusual. Surely he would have heard of something like this before if it was common?   
So he kept to himself and tried to improve his newfound skill secretly.  
At first he could only access it when in trance, but after e few months he could do it on a normal basis, simply by concentrating hard.  
  
Around that time he noted, that when in a trance, he could even 'feel' his surroundings, not only a persons position and their thoughts.   
It wasn't much, but he was sure that with training he would be able to walk blindfolded, picturing his surroundings in his mind.  
  
  
It took some time but eventually the two became quite a team and their names started to make the rounds, partly because Shinji was the born thief because of his new powers, and partly because Tsubasa was the best fighter in the age group of 8 to 14, with Shinji not far behind.  
  
However, all good things come to an end some time. Their friendship was one of them.  
  
In Tokyo 2 the Yakuza were active to some degree, and after 1 1/2 years partnership the duo robbed the wrong person.  
It wasn't even very much, only a few thousand yen, but the man noticed them at the last moment.  
They ran for half an hour, without losing him, his faster pace making up for their knowledge of the alleys.  
  
Finally they lost him, or so they thought.  
They made their way back to the camp, trying to catch some sleep after eating.  
Tsubasa fell asleep almost instantly, snoring softly.  
Shinji would have too, if not for the fact that he had felt the mans hatred even without concentrating on using his special ability. He was deeply disturbed that someone could be that fired up because of a few thousand yen.  
His sleeplessness was the only thing that saved him that night when the Yakuza thug struck.   
  
With one quick motion the big man had Tsubasa grabbed and slammed his still sleeping form into a wall, snapping his best friends spine.  
Shinji shot straight up the moment he heard the thug and was 5 feet away when Tsubasa died before his eyes.  
Now he could see a sadistic smirk on the mans face  
"Stay here little kid, I'm not finished with you, I think I'm going to kill you after I had some fun."  
  
Rage was boiling in Shinji that moment. This thug had killed his best friend just like that, and he would meet the same fate.  
However, Shinji also knew he didn't stand a chance right now and ran away, planning the revenge of his friend.  
  
This time the thug didn't give as much chase, seemingly satisfied that he killed one of two brats.  
However, Shinji was still keeping track of him from the dark, following him at a good 150 feet distance.  
Already his mind was planning to kill the thug in his sleep, just like he had done to his friend.  
After spying his house, if it could be called that, he walked back and packed up, moving the camp.  
  
***************************  
  
Ever since that moment Shinji was living to destroy this man, who took his only friend. He did only three things: eating, training and sleeping.  
And now, after 6 months the moment was finally there. he was now good enough to sneak around in total darkness, only using his mysterious skill to keep track of his pitch black surroundings.   
  
He already knew his prey was behind the next door and he readied his weapon.   
He checked on the thug's aura to make sure he still slept and crept forward some more.  
  
With a creek the door was opened and the child stepped in. With a fluid grace, born from sneaking around for over two years, he neared the head of the bed.  
  
He could smell and hear his enemy's regular and stinkin breath now.   
He lifted the knife and brought it over his head, he wouldn't give this pig a chance to survive.  
  
*****************************  
  
Milliseconds later an earsplitting scream, that died down almost the moment it began, echoed through the streets around an old apartment building in Tokyo 2  
  
5 minutes later an eight-year-old boy calmly walked out the backdoor, his old worn shirt splattered with fresh blood.  
His mind still going over the scene over and over again, and finally coming to the realization, that he took a life, the first time in his young life.  
  
The next morning a middle-aged man was found dead in his bed, his head cleanly split in half.   
While checking through his belongings the police discovered that he was working for a yakuza ring and through the findings they were able to capture his boss and lay waste to a small crime syndicate.  
  
********************************   
  
2010  
  
The last two years had gone by in a blur for Shinji.   
Without a close friend to get the day around all he could do was improve his abilities so he could survive the next years on the street.   
  
The most important were still his fighting abilities. By spying on a local fighting course using his sixth sense, as he dubbed his supernatural ability, he managed to improve his techniques quite a bit, but without someone to practice with, aside from the occasional thug who thought he was easy prey, he felt he lacked training. You could only do so much by yourself.  
  
His sixth sense itself was now strong enough that he could read every single emotion without even half trying on a person.   
As for feeling his surroundings, he could only keep reading them up for about an hour, but that was good enough.  
The drawback of all this was, that he had to eat a lot. It seemed like using his abilities was also using up quite a bit of energy.  
  
Form that he got another idea. If it was really energy he was using, he should be able to use it for other things and so he started to experiment.  
After a lot of futile attempts he managed to not simply send the energy out to get a reading on his surroundings, but to pump it into his body instead.  
That made him faster and stronger for short periods of a few minutes. However, the serious advantage in strength and speed enabled him to take out fighters 6 years older than him without many problems, as long as they weren't too good in fighting.  
  
That was why he was standing here right now, in front of a steel door, in some trashed alleyway that was stinkin like hell.  
He knew inside was a fighting area where kids from all ages were ducking it out, all for the fun of the audience and of course, the money that came with it.  
Usually the participators were over 12 years, but he was sure he could make up for it with his sixth sense.  
Here was the best way to make a lot of money to live from without stealing from people. That would be a very nice rest for his guilty consciousness.  
  
Shinji knocked three times and a small window in the middle was opened.  
He had to stand on his toes to look through it.  
The sleazy old man behind it looked at him critically.  
"Go away kid, you have no business here!" He rasped out.  
  
"I'm here to fight old geezer, let me in already!"  
  
The man laughed out loud and looked at him disdainfully  
"I somehow doubt you will stand the slightest chance kid, leave!"  
  
With that he closed the small outlook.  
However, when the old man, still snickering, turned around a loud 'thung' echoed out from behind him.  
He turned around to see a dent in the metal plate that represented the door and sweatdropped. He really didn't give that one enough credit.  
He immediately opened the door, to find the kid standing behind it, smirking at him as if to say 'I told you geezer'.  
"Um, I think you can go in!" The balding man said sweating slightly. He didn't want to get on this ones bad side.  
  
Shinji nodded and proceeded forward. It didn't take long before he found himself in a small office where he filled out a few forms, on computer of course. Shinji could write, because he and Tsubasa decided early on to try and stay up to date by reading from the newspapers and various books.  
  
All around people were giving him funny looks. It wasn't everyday a 10 year old participated in the tournament.  
When he handed his papers back the secretary, an old lady with a lot of make up, looked at him critically.  
"You sure you want to do this small one. It's pretty hard out there you know?"  
  
Shinji only grinned "Of course I will do this, I'm not about to back out now."  
  
The old women nodded and clicked on her computer a few times  
"Ok, your first fight will be at 20:00. I wish you luck." 'If you have any you will survive the beating this one will give you without broken bones' she added silently.  
  
Shinji nodded his thanks and walked down the hall. Now he wanted to watch a few fights and grab something to eat. Hopefully his reserves would be full this way, because he had to fight in 5 hours. To put a 5-inch deep dent into that metal door he had to use nearly half his reserves at once, now he had to get them back.  
  
**********************************   
  
Shinji was finally standing in the ring, facing of against a 14 year old kid who looked quite strong.  
A few murmurs were going through the crowd; probably all having to do something with him going to be beaten, judging from the reactions after the announcer said their names.  
When his was said they laughed, but they cheered for his opponent.  
He didn't care; he would win, no matter what they said.  
His opponent was smirking at him with an air of superiority around him. That would soon change   
  
************************************  
  
Up in the ranks a man with an air of dignity about him was watching Shinji with a keen eye. His name was Masaru Lee and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about that kid, aside from the fact that he was far younger than normal for these circles.  
"Sir! Your bet please?"  
  
"Set on the new kid, Shinji was his name if I remember correctly. 1 Million Yen"  
  
The bet-taker's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets  
"Sir! That is quite a sum to place on a 10 year old, only 3 others have placed their trust in him, with far less money."  
  
"Do it already, I have a hunch."  
  
"Very well."  
  
When Masaru was unobserved again he turned his attention back to the ring  
"Now, lets see what you can do Shinji." he whispered.  
  
***************************************  
  
At last the fight started. Both combatants stepped forth and bowed.  
"Ok you two. Beltline downward is off limits. If someone is knocked out, victory for the other; you yield, victory for other party. As for the rest, anything goes."  
  
"Hai!" came the simultaneous reply  
  
"FIGHT!"  
  
****************************************  
  
Shinji's opponent didn't waste any time after the announcer declared the fight started.  
He came at the much younger boy with a straight punch that packed his full power, hoping to knock the new kid out in one swift movement.  
  
To the audience and his surprise Shinji simply leaned his head to the side, the punch missing by mere millimeters. He grabbed hold of the now overextended boys arm and threw him over his shoulder with seemingly no effort.  
Everybody gasped when the boy hit the ground. Masaru simply raised an eyebrow; that kid packed more power than he should be able to pack.  
  
Shinji's opponent, Makoto, eyed his enemy with new respect. He used a straight punch expecting him to simply dodge. It shouldn't have been possible for the smaller boy to throw him like that.  
  
This time he came at Shinji, who was smirking, with a combination of fast jabs and kicks, trying to pin him for the knockout.   
No such luck, the small boy evaded him seemingly without any effort.  
What was worse, Shinji even slipped a few punches through his defenses.  
Makoto was getting frustrated and started to get more fierce in his offense, leaving himself wide open but knowing his opponent was too focused on blocking to do anything.  
  
He was once again proven wrong when Shinji burst forth with ridiculous speed and sent a full powered punch to his solar plexus.  
  
When Shinji felt his fist sinking into the other boy he smirked even more, sure that he had won after powering his punch with his energy effectively making it 4 times stronger than normal.  
  
Dead silence reigned when Makoto, the clear favorite in this fight, crumbled to the ground unmoving.  
  
"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10... KNOCKOUT. And the winner is Shinji Ikari"  
The announcer said, himself not fully believing what he saw with his own eyes.  
  
Once again it was dead silent when someone broke out clapping. This one was no other then Masuru, who was clearly impressed with the new lad.  
Soon the whole audience joined him and cheered for the winner, who was basking in the attention he was getting.  
  
*************************  
  
5 hours later the final match was held. Not surprisingly it was Shinji against the 15-year-old champ.   
After his first win Shinji had to win 2 more matches, just like his last and strongest opponent.   
He was all that stood between him and the first prize of the tournament.  
Shinji had seen him in action and knew he wouldn't stand a chance in a straight fight. He was sure that he would have to use all his reserves to win, which he planned on doing. Up to that point he always used defensive tactics to lure his enemies out to knock them out with one well placed punch or kick.   
He resolved to change that now, hopefully throwing his opponent off balance to win this one fast. Surprise was his only advantage here.  
  
The betting was now a bit more outbalanced this time since the audience knew what to expect from both fighters. The majority of the audience still placed their money on Jonny, the champ. He was a big fellow from America.  
  
Masaru decided it was best not to bet anything on this fight. He had already decided to speak with Shinji later on, maybe he could win him as a student for their private fighting school. They took only the best ones and made them better. They could afford it because of the money their members regularly won in tournaments like this one. Most of the time they even brought more money in than they cost, so it was quite a promising business.   
He came here in hopes of finding new material, and obviously he found it. The current fight however, was uncertain in his eyes. Jonny may have been the better fighter, but he could tell the new kid was holding out here, only waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim when it wasn't on his guard.   
This was the sort of fighter he searched, someone who used everything he had, just like the rest he had found. Their students weren't famous for nothing in these circles after all.  
  
Jonny for his part was VERY reserved about this fight. His opponent sure didn't look like much, but he took out 2 boys at least 4 years his elders without problems before. He wasn't sure why, but somehow he knew he was in for a few more surprises.  
  
*************************  
  
"FIGHT" It echoed once again.  
  
In one flash Shinji was on top of Jonny, who had barely time to react in time, getting hit with a few hammer strikes into his face and rips before he managed to put up a defense.   
He blocked to his best ability, but found to his dismay that Shinji was still getting through.  
One especially hard kick bruised his right side, leaving him gasping.  
'Time to stop this' he thought, and lashed out. He got hit once more, but caught Shinji square in the face in return.  
  
For a moment the two only stared at each other, not sure how to proceed, their rapid breathing from their minute exchange drowned out by the cheering and applauding crowd.  
  
'SHIT! Not fast enough. Well, lets at least give a good show with what we have left.' Shinji cursed his rotten luck. It worked just fine, simply rushing his opponent. Unfortunately Jonny was able to take quite a beating and therefore still stood, albeit shaking.   
Shinji didn't want to risk a broken arm or something, so he only attacked with mediocre strength, which obviously was not enough. Now he had to save his last strength to give a good show lest somebody gets suspicious of his powers.  
  
They met once again, this time at a much slower pace than before, both trying to outlast their opponent. After a good 10 minutes of punching, kicking, blocking and throwing Shinji started to tire and Jonny got more and more hits in.  
  
Shinji tried to retaliate one last time, putting his last reserves to the front. He ducked under a right cross and struck upwards with all his might, catching Jonny under the chin and knocking him of his feet.  
  
Jonny rolled with the blow, his head spinning. He still had the mind to sweep Shinji's feet out from under him when he came at him, standing up in the same movement, and faster then Shinji could react Jonny was on top of him, his fist only inches from a panting Shinji's face.  
"Give up kiddo?"  
  
Shinji closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a frustrated sigh.  
"Yes, I yield, you win." The fight was over.  
  
Jonny grinned and was promptly declared the winner of the tournament therefore getting 50000 Yen. Shinji couldn't complain though, as the second best he still got half of that, enough to feed him over two weeks.  
  
****************************  
  
Shinji was just walking out of the host's office when someone got his attention with a tap on his shoulder.  
He turned around to see a middle aged man of average height and figure. He looked loaded judging from the expensive looking suit he was wearing.  
Shinji frowned slightly, whatever this man wanted couldn't be good, and considering that Shinji was still hurting all over from his last fight, he did't feel like talking. It could be excused that he was a bit irritated when spoke :"What is it?"  
  
The man answered with a disarming smile, showing a perfect set of teeth.  
"Now, now, no need to be so abrasive. I'm here to make you an offer."  
  
"Oh, and what offer is it?"  
  
"My name is Masaru Lee, pleased to meet you. You see, I was watching you fight, and frankly I'm impressed with your abilities. I'm a representative from a renowned martial arts school and we're always searching for talents like you to train. If you join you would get a roof over your head, all the food you want and more training then you can take. So are you interested?"  
  
Shinji was really interested, but he couldn't believe they would just give that all for free, there had to be a catch. He said as much.  
  
The man just nodded:"I can see what you mean, but don't worry it's nothing much. The only thing we except you to do is to fight for our school in some tournaments when we say it. Usually the winnings are enough to make up for your costs. So what do you say?"   
  
Masaru knew he had Shinji long before the boy replied. For somebody like him , opportunities like this didn't come everyday.  
"Yes, I think I will go Lee-san. Where are we headed?"  
  
"We will stay here in Tokyo 2. Our Base is on the other side of the city."  
  
"That's a long walk, are you sure we shouldn't wait till dawn?"   
  
Masaru chuckled a bit.  
"Shinji, Shinji, Shinji, We're not walking, I came here by car. Come on now."   
  
Only 2 hours later Shinji's contract for his stay was signed by both sides and without further ado he hit the sack  
  
***********************  
  
The next morning Shinji found himself clad in clean clothes and freshly bathed for the first time in over 4 years. It had been so long since his last bath, he didn't even remember how good it felt to sink into the warm water anymore, or sleep on something other than hard concrete.  
  
Right now he was sitting opposite of a woman about 35, her name was Minako Misune. Masaru said she was to be his new martial arts teacher, but for some reason she decided to evolve their first meeting into a staring contest.  
Unfortunately he couldn't make out any emotion from her that could give him a hint as to why.  
  
On the other side of the table Minako Mitsune was simply waiting. She always tested her ) students' patience before teaching anything. Right now Shinji was nearing the 40'th minute of silence and she knew it wouldn't be much longer before he broke. Actually it was quite surprising he had lasted even that long.  
Exactly at that moment Shinji had enough  
"Miss, what are we doing here staring at each other? I'm getting tired of this you know?"  
  
Minako grinned like the cat that ate the canary.  
"Simple young one, I wanted to test your patience. Your act of speaking showed it just ran out, but don't worry, you held out quite long. That's surprising considering how young you are. In chase you're wondering, I'm doing this to test your control. Control is very important for martial artists like yourself, but that's beside the point. Do you know any meditation techniques?"  
  
Shinji nodded   
"Yes I know some basics but nothing too fancy. I only learned a few when I was 6. Ever since then I tried to improve upon them by myself."  
  
"Very well, I see you tried what you could. I'm sure you'll make a good student. Now for your training plan..........."  
  
************************************  
  
After meeting Minako and laying out his future plans for training Shinji was introduced to his own private teacher. Couldn't let the students get stupid now, could they?  
  
His name was Toshio Umura and he was quite a nice fellow who always had a smile on his face.   
Shinji was to be taught by Umura-sensei in every subject to the best of his abilities. At first he didn't want to, but it was part of the contract, so he had to. Besides, his teacher seemed like he could make it interesting, hopefully.   
  
After a short introduction and setting the time for the first meeting Shinji had the day off to explore the grounds.   
As far as he could tell the resort he was now living in stretched for a good quarter-mile.   
  
The living quarters were located in west. They were nothing special, just a few rooms with a bed in each, to allow privacy for the schools students. Nearly 25 students had permanent rooms, but from his short talk with Minako he also gathered only half of them were here right now. Often they were gone to one tournament or another, as would he once he was trained enough.  
  
Deeper into the compound, nearly on the opposite of the front portal there was a massive dojo, spacious enough to train a small army at once. It was divided into the main hall, where the majority of the students trained, and the back hall, where the more skilled students like him where trained in private.   
  
On the east site of the compound there stood a large complex that was housing the kitchen and mess hall, as well as various rooms with additional training devices. It even had a pool for swimming, something Shinji resolved to learn. He didn't enjoy the thought of drowning very much and it embarrassed the hell out of him to know he couldn't swim.  
  
The rest of the compound was made up with mostly paths and a simple lawn that had a few tree groups in each corner. While wandering around, searching for a nice secluded spot near the compound wall, Shinji saw another boy sitting on a low branch, playing the flute, of all things. He hadn't thought anybody else was playing any sort of instrument around here, so he resolved to get to know this one.  
  
Shinji waited patiently till the boy stopped playing, just listening to the happy tune that was played.  
When the boy looked up in his direction Shinji noted he was well over 13.  
"You play incredibly good. My name's Shinji, what's yours?"  
  
The boy stood to his full height, towering nearly a head over Shinji in the process   
"Name's Akira kid, thanks for your compliment. I've already been playing for 8 years now."  
  
"That's neat. I play the flute too, but I didn't have anybody to play with lately. Want to play together sometime? You could even give me some pointers."  
  
Akira seemed to mull that over shortly, and then he nodded hesitantly.  
"Yeah, sure, I think I could do that. I'm always here when we don't train so if you want to, just come over. It's not like I have anything else to do."  
  
"Thank you Akira-san. See you tomorrow!" When Shinji finished his sentence the older boy was already gone, leaving Shinji standing in the small clearing.  
  
Shinji decided that he would better get going too; he still had enough time to explore his new neighborhood, which he promptly did.  
  
**********************  
  
Shinji soon noticed that Akira was the silent type. He was always polite, but it took Shinji a good 4 weeks of prodding until he finally managed to get Akira's trust to some degree and from that day on Shinji and Akira soon fell into a pattern. They would eat breakfast, then train, eat lunch, take lessons, train some more, eat dinner and finally, after a long day, they always met at the same place where Shinji saw Akira playing the flute the first time.   
  
There they would play a few pieces to relax and exchange some stories.  
Shinji soon learned that Akira was from the street as well, but for different reasons. It seemed that his parents abandoned him, simply throwing him out on the street. From there on Akira was always rather sketchy. He said he had a friend who betrayed him, which was why he didn't let anybody near him so that it wouldn't happen again.  
  
Shinji accepted Akira's choice not to tell details; after all, he didn't speak about his past all that much either. It was only fair.   
  
************************  
  
The next four years flew past in a blur involving a lot of training, learning, tournaments and of course victories on their part. (Revise sentence. My suggestion is "The next four years flew by in a blur. Shinji was involved in a lot of training, learning, and of course, tournaments which he had his fair share of victories in. ")  
  
It would have continued that way if not for a fateful day when a simple letter changed Shinji's world forever......  
  
*************************  
  
Authors notes :  
  
Ahhh, finally I have finished the first chapter. It wasn't even planned as a chapter at first, but I don't think I can call it a prologue either. Still, Hope you like it up till now   
Anyway, now we will finally begin the story arc of the series, with a lot of twist thrown in, of course.   
  
Some of you might wonder: Why has Shinji all these neat powers now?  
The idea is rather easy. It's a sure bet something is special about the children; after all, there are only a few who can pilot EVA. As far as I can tell they pilot it by 'thinking' to it, so they may be dormant telepaths or something. Now, I believe with training they could probably use it outside Eva for things like reading auras or thoughts, maybe even minor telekinesis, but we will see just how much power Shinji will get. At maximum he will, if at all, be able to bring himself to hover in one position when meditating, otherwise only lifting a pencil or a glass of water.  
  
Some of you might wonder when I will catch on the EVA story arc. It won't be long now. Once Shinji is 14 everything will proceed as normal as possible with a Shinji that was changed to this degree, okay, actually I will probably screw the story arc even more, but I will try to hold at least the listing of the angels. Only problem is I haven't seen the series in a long time and I'm not sure which angel comes at what point. So, if someone has the time: Could you please tell me?  
  
I also plan to strew in some flashbacks to clear up more of Shinji's time in the compound, so that's why I kept it short at the end.  
  
I'm in dire need of a few pre-readers right now. You are interested? Just mail me at master_meister@gmx.de.  
For all the others, at least Review and tell me what I did wrong or right OK.  
I don't have anything against flames, as long as they are reasonable.  
That's all for now, bye!   
  
Last but not least I want to thank my pre-reader SuPeRnOvA145 for making this story readable.  
  
  
Mastermage 


	2. WOTW2 Arrival

Way of the warrior  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of it's characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.  
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.  
So, please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 - Arrival  
  
Tokyo 2 - Year 2014  
  
' You have to come to Tokyo 3 Shinji. I have need for you. The time and station for your leave by train should be with this letter.  
  
Your father, Gendo Ikari'  
  
Would Gendo have been there when Shinji was finished reading the measly thing his father called a letter, he would have died instantly due to several broken bones and internal bleeding.   
  
In other words, Shinji was pissed, really pissed. The past 10 years his father had done nothing for him and now that bastard expected him to come hopping when he called.   
  
Knowing that only made Shinji madder and he struck out, putting a nice fist-sized hole into the nearest wall. That calmed him down somewhat, but not by much.  
Now a new thought struck him: Why the hell would his worthless excuse of a parent need him now of all times? Try as he might Shinji could not come up with anything that would make sense.  
  
However, it had to be something important, otherwise the bastard wouldn't have bothered to make contact with his child.  
So it might be something really important.  
Not someone to let anybody down, even if said person was his father, Shinji decided to go.  
'It's not like I can't beat the crap out of him afterwards, if it's unimportant.'  
Shinji chuckled a bit at that. It would be really satisfying to pay his father back.   
Not that he was a violent person, mind you, he just didn't know a more satisfying way to pay his father back.  
  
Now that he had resolved what to do Shinji had to inform Mitsune-sensei and Umura-sensei of his leave. Akira also had a right to know. Anybody else he could care less about. He didn't know anybody that good around the compound anyway, the training simply didn't leave much time to make friends. he was on a first name basis with some students, but they were only distant friends.  
Only Masaru Lee, the person who brought him into the compound had to know, he was the administrator after all.  
  
Carefully Shinji placed the letter back into closet ans set out to find the aforementioned persons.  
  
********************************  
  
Tokyo 3 - The next day  
  
It was a beautiful day in Tokyo 3. The sun was standing high in the deep blue sky and not one sound was heard.  
  
'Not one sound? That doesn't sound right,I'm in Tokyo 3 right? There should be a lot of noises. Odd'  
That was what ran through the head of the sole occupant of a train station in Tokyo 3. As some of you might have already guessed, this person's name was Shinji Ikari.  
  
The 14 year old was getting impatient now. His father wrote him, that somebody would wait to fetch him. Instead he had been waiting here nearly 20 minutes, growing more nervous by the minute. Once he found this Katsuragi person he was going to give her a piece of his mind, no matter her beauty (and he knew she was one, from the card she had laid into the letter!).  
Something was very wrong in this city and Shinji could practically feel his hackels rise.  
  
"Ahh, what the fuck, I will just find a phone, maybe they forgot?"  
He said to himself as he picked up his duffelbag and started to wander in a random direction, searching for a payphone.  
  
Not 10 minutes later he located one, but to his dismay the only response he got was :"This phone is not working due to a city-wide emergeny, please go to the shelters!"  
  
Shinji stared at the headpiece dumbfounded for a few seconds, but decided it was best to do as the artificial voice said.  
Shinji strechted out his senses to find a mass of people and the shelters with them, but what he found wasn't what he expected.  
There was an aura in the city that was huge! No make that really HUGE!  
The strange thing was, that it seemed to be generated by one highly dense point in the aura.  
  
"What the fuck!"  
Was all Shinji could say before a squadron of military jets zoomed past and fired their missiles on the unknown aura.   
He couldn't see anything because of the buildings, but the explosions where strong enough to shake the earth, nearly pulling his legs out from under him.  
  
"Just what is that here? Did my father just call me into the middle of a war, or what!"  
The answer Shinji got was a lot worse: the next moment a huge... something stepped into view further ahead on the street. The monstrosity was towering well over 500 feet. It had small, frail looking arms and legs, looking like a miscreated humanoid. His head seemed to be pulled into the torso, which in turn was protected by a white boney looking cage. In the middle of it all a big red orb was pulsing angrily, that was also the area where Shinji located the dense point of the aura.  
  
To say Shinji was blown of his feet, was to say the sun was merely warm.   
'This isn't a war, this is a friggin' alien invasion. And to think I could have stayed at home! damn my curiosity.'  
Now, Shinji wasn't someone to be easily scared, but when confronted with a creature that was shrugging of missiles like they were nothing even he knew not to fight. So he did the next best thing that came to mind: He ran.  
  
Well, actually he only ran a few feet, before he had to jump to the side to avoid being crushed under the wreck of an aircraft that was batted his way by the monster.  
  
Shinji got to his feet again, his heart now thundering in his chest, drowning out everything around him and ran with all he had, making a good 30 miles per hour.  
  
*****************************  
  
Misato Katsuragi wasn't having a very good day, in fact, her day was one of the worst you can have:  
She was late (no suprise there, really), some monster was stomping around in her city, and now she had to search the damn city for the new pilot that should have arrived.  
  
"Just why couldn't he wait until I arrived huh?"  
Further ranting on part of the Nerv Officer was interrupted as she had to concentrate on the street, which was littered with various wrecks and debris. She desperateky hoped the pilot wans't underneath one of these.  
  
As fate would have it, she finally saw somebody on the street.  
'Finally!' she thought triumphatically.  
Since the brown haired boy was running in her direction she hit the brakes and truned her car into a tight spin, bringing it to a standstill only two feet in front of the brownhaired youth with dark blue eyes, who managed to stop running just in time not to crash into her car.  
  
*******************************  
  
As Shinji roundend another corner he saw the first sign of life: A blue sports car that was coming towards him at full speed.  
The moment he spotted the car he started to stop his all out run, fearing he wouldn't be able to avoid the car.  
However, 60 feet before the two met the driver forced his car into a tight spin and brought the car to a stop only 2 feet in front of him.  
  
The door was opened and a purple haired woman in her late twenties appeared. She was cald into a short (very short for Shinji's tastes) shirt and a black sweater that was covered by a red jacket. All in all she was quite the looker. But now was not the time for that, more important was the fact that this was Misato Katsuragi, the person who was to fetch him from the station.  
  
"Hop in. We have to get out of here." The woman said frantically  
  
"Don't have to say that twice mam!" Shinji gave back as he jumped into his seat and slammed the door shut. The moment it snapped shut Misato hit the accelerator and they sped away, driving like a devil. Shinji didn't seem perturbed by her driving style,although he was wondering if he could learn to drive like that.  
  
"Why the hell didn't you wait where you were supposed to?" Misato requested while driving like mad.  
  
"Oh I don't know. Well, maybe it had to do with the fact that a certain person was late and I tried to phone her. Only to get trampled by some giant monstrosity right out of the film."  
  
Misato winced, hearing the strong edge of sarcasm in his voice.  
"Uhm, a simple sorry wouldn't do, would it?"  
  
Shinji brightened a bit, quite a feat considering they were still chased by some freakish creature that was able to crush them like bugs.  
"Well, a sorry is a start Misato-san. Although I would appriciate if you could tell me why we're being chased by an over 500 feet high monster."  
  
"This monster is called 'angel' Shinji. That's all I can tell you right now."  
  
"Well, that's not very much I must say. What are we going to do now? And why are we stopping?"  
  
Misato was already out the door, pulling out a pair of binoculars. Shinji also exited the car and tried to make out what she was looking for. All he saw was another bomber flying towards its doom. Then he watched closer and realized it was a lot bigger than all the others and it's altitude was much higher. In fact there weren't any aircrafts near the Angel anymore.  
"What's going on Misato-san?"  
  
Misato's face had gone withe while watching.  
"They wouldn't.." Shinji heard her wispher.  
  
"Duck! They're going to drop an N-2 mine"  
That was all the warning Shinji got before Misato dragged him down with her towards the ground.  
Only seconds later Shinji heard the distinct sound of a huge explosion, followed by a shockwave.   
All around them trees were torn up and debris were flying everywhere.   
Shinji decided it was best to stay where he was.  
  
Once it was over Shinji noted with a bit of worry that his face was currently nestled between a nice pair of breasts. Not that it wasn'T nice or something, in fact the warmth that was seeping from them was great, but still.  
When Misato got up she didn't look like she noticed.  
"You all right Shinji-kun?"  
  
"Yeah, all fine." he looked around for a moment "although I think your car needs a check up."  
  
Misato gave him a confused look, until she spotted her precious car, lying on the side a few meters off the road. her expression grew frustrated instantly.   
"That can't be. That car is brand new, and I still have to pay 36 rates. I'm so doomed! Come on, we have to get it up again. Hopefully it's still functional."  
  
Shinji shrugged and walked to the car, and before Misato could react, he grabbed the underside and turned it over with seemingly no effort.(1)  
  
Misato stood there gaping. That kid had more power than she thought. She very much doubted she would have been able to do that.  
"What... How..ahh, buh.." Misato was also at a loss for words. That enigmatic grin on the boys face was also unnerving.   
Another part of her mind noted that he looked quite handsome with it though, for a 14 year old. Yet another part of her mind quickly squashed the last, saying he was 'JUST A KID'.  
  
Finally Misato simply decided to let it drop for now and tried to start the engine. However, it became soon apparent, that something wasn't working  
"Aww fuck! Well, lets see what it is..."  
  
*******************************  
  
2 hours later  
  
Misato and Shinji were once again driving towards NERV, Shinji looking slightly unnerved.  
"You know Misato-san, most people would call that stealing." he said, pointing out the stack of car-batteries in the backseat.  
  
Misato turned a slight shade of pink, but had an excuse anyway.  
"No, we sipmly confiscated that material for an national emergency. I'm allowed to do that."  
  
Shinji snorted.  
"It's still stealing. Besides, I still think I could have gotten us to NERV faster."  
  
Misato just shook her head and said nothing. Ever since she had gone to the city to get some batteries Shinji was insisting they go there by foot. What a crazy kid.  
  
5 minutes later they drove into a mountain. The road was leading deeper and deeper, until they came to some sort of laoding area. Misato drove the car into a lot in the wall, and only as the wall started to move did Shinji realize, that it was a train!  
They were descending even faster now, and the next moment Shinji was looking out into a vast underground cavern. It's ground was covered with trees and medows, that we're stretching several miles in all directions. Even a small river could be seen making its way to the lake in the middle. Next to the lake there stood some strange pyramide. Shinji summed the sight up in one word:   
"WOW!"  
  
Misato grinned, she knew he would like it.  
"Beautiful isn't it? A real Geofront, it's totally independent with it's on circulation system. The first time I saw it I was stunned as well. We're heading down there, to the pyramide. That's Central Dogma."  
  
"Misato-san? Just why does my father want me down here? I don't think it is because he wanted me to show the nice view. What's he doing down here anyway?"   
  
Misato looked at Shinji beduffled.   
"You don't know what your father is doing at NERV?"  
  
"No, I haven't seen him in 8 years. So what does he do now?"  
  
Misato frowned a bit at his answer. The commander sure wasn't a good father, if he could be called that, but Shinji didn't seem bothered at all.  
"Shinji, your father is the commander of NERV.I think you should read that, to learn a bit more about NERV." With that she handed him a thick brochure, which Shinji started to leaf through almost casually while answering.   
"Hah, I knew it. It's always the bastards who leave their child behind them, that rise the highest." A bitter chuckle folowed that statement.  
  
Misato's frown deepened even more. It seemed Shinji didn't hate his father, but if that was the chase then only because he didn't deem him worthy of it. maybe he was simply good at hiding it...  
  
*************************************  
  
Shinji and Misato could be seen walking through the endless mazes that were NERV, they had been walking for the last 15 minutes and hadn't made any progress. Shinji was starting to think Misato didn't know where she was.  
"Misato-san, I think we're walking in circels. I'm sure we passed here at least 3 times. We should call someone."  
  
"We're not lost, I'm simply trying to find the best way to our destination, that's all."  
  
Shinji chuckled at that. Misato sure could be funny.  
"Now you're lying. Just call somebody okay?"  
  
Misato caved in and nodded. She took the next best phone and dialed a number. An annoyed voice was heard on the other end.  
"Misato? is that you?"  
  
"Yes, it's me Ritsuko. ehhehheh.... You see, uhm, I'm kinda lost. Could you pick me up please?"  
  
"Is the new pilot with you?"  
  
"Yes, he's standing behind me."  
  
"Okay, don't move. I'll come down. So where are you?"  
  
"level B-12." Misato didn't get an answer, the other end simply went dead. Oh well...  
  
"There all done."  
  
Shinji sighed relieved. He was getting bored of walking in circels and reading the brochure Misato gave him wasn't very useful either,since it only held some major data on NERV, but nothing special. Hopefully the person she called was a bit more potent the her when it came to directions.  
  
Not 4 minutes later a door shifted open, revealing an elevator. It was occupied by a tall blond, with shoulder lenght hair. She had a mole under her left eye and a frown on her face. her state of dress was another thing: A short red miniskirt with matching blouse, overlayed with a lab coat of all things. A quick glimpse at her aura revealed to Shinji that Misato was about to be chewed out, jugding from the annoyed and angry vibes he was getting.  
  
"Well Misato, you are lost again. Just when are you going to get a card of the complex?"  
  
Misato rubbed her head in embaressement and chuckled lightly  
"Sorry Rit's. Anyway, Shinji I want you to meet a friend of mine. her name is Ritsuko Akagi, and she's the head scientist at NERV. Ritsuko, meet Shinji Ikari."  
  
Only now shifted Ritsuko's attention over to Shinji, which earned an unnoticed sigh of relief from Misato, who was happy to be let of the hook.  
"Nice to meet you Ikari-kun. I take it your stay here was rather turbulent up till now?"  
  
Shinji gave a fromal bow before answering.  
"The pleasure is all mine Akagi-san. And Yes, I would say it was rather interesting up to this point. I'm just wondering what comes next."  
  
Ristuko only gave an enigmatic grin.  
"Let's just say, the day just started for you Shinji-kun. Now follow me. Oh, and Misato, try not to get lost, okay?"  
  
Soon they were on there way, Misato still cursing Ritsuko for making fun of her and the other two laughing at her antics.   
  
***************************************  
  
The trio soon found themself before a door, which opened just like all the others before.  
There was, however, a important detail. It was pitch black inside.   
Therefore Shinji was rather suprised to find himself surrounded by blackness when the door closed, he hadn't noticed there was no light until he couldn't read the brochure anymore.  
"Hey? Who turned out the lights? I wanne see something." 'Not that I really need to' he thought to himself, still amused about all the advantages his mysterious powers brought with them. Absently he noted the room had to be vast, judging from the echo his question got. That he could tell, even without powers.  
  
"Lights!" came the commanding voice of Dr. Akagi beside him, and instantly the world lit up, causing Shinji's jaw to drop.  
Before him laid a huge room that was stretching a good half mile to his left and right. They were standing on a catwalk. These things seemed to cross the room everywhere. The room was also filled with a reddish/orange liquid that was coming up half a meter under the catwalk they were standing on.  
But the most promiment feature in the otherwise metallic grey room was the giant purple head, that was on the right side of the catwalk. It was towering over Shinji, staring back at him with menacing, but lifeless eyes. It also had a horn on his head, that was looking rather silly, bt menacing all the same.  
'What the hell!'  
"Misato, what is that pruple thing?"  
  
before the women got to say a word a booming voice was heard in the vast room, coming from a few levels higher.  
"That is EVA 01. You will pilot it son!"  
  
Shinji new that voice from his memories.  
'Father' he thought furious.  
Shinji searched the wall opposite to him, to find a figur standing on a high platform above him. he was dressed in a dark uniform and white gloves adorned his hands. Shinji's first impulse was to kill the bastard that abandoned him, but he wouldn't do that, not now. He was a fighter, and knew how to hold himself in check.   
However, his voice wasn't neutral when addressing the mighty commander of NERV. In fact, his voice was so cold the temperature around him dropped 20 degree.  
"Hello father. Nice to meet you, too!"  
  
Hearing Shinji's voice Misato had to shudder and even Ritsuko swallowed a little.  
The commander however, didn't give away any uneasiness, if he had any. His voice was equally cold however, even if it didn't have the same egde to it.  
"We do not have time for exchanging pleasentries. Shinji, you have to pilot this machine, otherwise we're doomed!"  
  
Shinji's face twisted into a scowl. The audacity of this man was galling him to no end. This time some anger seeped into his voice  
"Oh? And just why, why should I do that? Huh? You have done nothing for me for 10 friggin years and now you expect me to pilot some friggin robot to fight off a friggin' monster that is probably your fault too. What do I get in compesation?.... So tell me?"  
  
Gendo's lips curled up a little.  
Misato blinked 'was that a smile?'  
"I think we can work something out. How about I give you 2 million Yen for every time you sortie to battle and a monthly salary of 200000 Yen?"  
  
Shinji's frown turned into a smile. It wasn't like he really needed it and he knew if what his father said wasn't exaggerated he was underpaid, but it was good to be set for life. He could kick a little ass for that. He still wasn't happy with his father though.  
"Sure thing!"  
  
Misato blinked again. Had the boy just accepted? She was prepared to throw herself at his feet and beg him to do it, but he just accepted for a bunch of money. Surely he din't know what he was getting himself into.  
"Shinji are you sure you know what you do? You are going to risk your life out there, you know?"  
  
Shinji gave her a confused look  
"So? I'm getting a lot of money for it. I'm also saving the world. What else is there to consider? It's better to die fighting some ugly monster than to die because a car hit you by accident. Don't you think so?"  
  
Misato was even more baffeld now. The kid was taking this all in very good stride. Too good, for her taste.  
  
Gendo simply smiled when exiting the room.  
"Dr, Akagi, I trust you to instruct him on what is to be done?" Were his parting words.  
  
Ritsuko nodded, still a bit shocked, that Shinji was convinced this easily.  
"Very well..." The rest of her sentence was cut short, when a deep rumble was heard and suddenly the earth shook heftily.  
the next moments were only a blur. A few grinders broke from the ceiling, barreling towards them.  
Shinji's mind didn't even lose a second before he moved to action. His heart started racing and adrenaline pumped through his veins to make his body do the impossible.  
With a quick move he had both the doctor and the caipten grabbed by their arms and jerked them to the side with him, landing on the ground, as he cleared the dangerous area with inhumen speed.  
The grinders crashed to the ground before them only milliseconds later, bending the catwalk and resounding throughout the hangar with a mighty 'BOOM'.  
  
While Shinji was lying there his heart was slowly coming down to earth. 'Puh..That was to close for comfort.'  
  
Next to him Misato and Ritsuko were still shellshocked at nearly dying, not to mention their arms hurt like hell from Shinji's unexpected pull.  
Slowly the three stood up to survey the damage done.  
Sure enough, three grinders landed directly where they where standing only moments before.  
"I think I have to thank you for saving my life Shinji. Just how did you move so fast anyway?" Misato said.  
  
"Thats right. You have my gratitude as well Shinji-kun."  
  
Shinji smiled radiantly.  
"hey, no problem. can't let you die before you show me how everything works, can I. Besides, I like my company alive. As for me moving so fast, let's just say my reflexes are very good."  
  
Ristuko just thought 'reflexes, my ass! No human can move so fast!'  
Misato smiled weakly at his joke.   
"Just one thing. Don't pull my arm off next time you safe me!"  
  
  
Shinji turned his most sugar sweet smile onto Misato.  
"Why Misato-san, would you rather next time I safe you by carrying you damsel-in-distress style?"  
  
Misato couldn't help but imagine the scene of him carrying her in his arms, pressing her to his chest and promptly stomped the thought, embaressed with herself. her cheeks adorned a red tint as she tried to come up with a snide comeback. However, a lame "It would at least be preferable to getting my arm amputed" was all that came out.  
  
Ritsuko saw Shinji hadn't finished and wondered what came next. That boy sure was amusing and a good observer as well.  
It was, after all, very hard to get Misato embaressed.  
When Shinji's smile turned predatory the moment neared.  
"Why Misato, if you want me to carry you just ask, we can leave out the saving part."  
  
Ristsuko nearly laughed her as of as Misato's cheeks turned flame red.(2)  
"bah..I..what...how.." Misato was really speechless it seemed.  
Shinji himself was enjoying the expierience as much as Ritsuko.   
After a few seconds of laughing Misato said a bit more forceful  
"Will you two knock it off already?"  
  
"It's alright Misato, just a little teasing. After all, you could be my mother. Something like 'that' would be a bit much, don't you think so? Anyway, lets get to work. I wanne kick angel-butt"  
  
"I think Shinji's right come on now, we don't have much time."  
  
**************************  
  
Some time later Shinji found himself in some kind of tube, that was inserted into the backside of EVA-01, as they called that robot.  
The interior was a dull gray and he was sitting in a comfortable seat. In front of him there were some kind of handels to either side of the seat, obviously thought to pilot the monstrosity he was sitting in. However, two control-sticks and a few buttons couldn't be enough to pilot something that had legs and arms.  
'Just how does this work?'  
  
As if to answer his unspoken question the entry plug was filled with the voice of Dr. Akagi.  
"Shinji? Can you hear me?"  
  
"Yep, loud and clear doc. Say, how am I supposed to pilot this with only two control-sticks?"  
  
Ritsujo hesitated a moment before speaking  
"You will have you answer soon enough. But for now: Fill the entry plug!"  
A distant 'Yes Mam' was heard from the backround.  
  
Suddenly the plug was filled with the same orange liquid Shinji had seen earlier in the hangar. Just what were they doing? Going to drown him? NO, he doubted that very much, a corpse couldn't be too good at piloting.   
'Better make sure they know what they are doing'  
"Uhm, guys" Shinji said, now with the LCL to his neck "In here there's some kind of fluid. Whats going on?" The LCL finally was over his mouth  
  
"Dont worry Shinji. This is LCL, an oxigenic fluid. You can breath it like normal air, just take a gulp." he heard her cristal clear voice, even though he was surrounded by fluid.  
However, breathing the stuff was easier said then done, and so Shinji waited till he ran out of air before taking a deep breath.  
  
"..Gaahhhh.." At first he nearly choked, not used to have fluid in his lungs. It tasted like rotten flesh or something and smelled like blood. All in all he was proud of himself for not vomiting.  
"Bäh! Do you have this stuff with lemon aroma or something. Otherwise I'm going to quit the job. Thats awful."  
  
Suddenly a holoscreen activated in front of him, showing the face of Misato.  
"Don't be such a whiner. You're supposed to be tough, remember?"  
  
Shinji grimaced.  
"Just because I'm tough doesn't mean I have to like the taste of rotten flesh. You don't believe me: How about you taste it yourself sometime? Anyway, what now?"  
  
Another screen appeared, bearing Dr. Akagi's face.  
"Now we are going to link you with EVA-01. Just stay put."  
  
Shinji nodded and waited patiently. he heard somebody counting of some status reports, and suddenly, when someone shouted 'critical point reached' his world changed:  
Somehow he felt bigger now, In fact, he felt like he was as big as EVA-01. His body was feeling different too. Like he was ripped from his own and thrown into another. The gray walls of the plug lightened up, and he saw the outside. Right now he was looking directly into the control room.   
He still couldn't get over the feeling of power and familarity this body gave him. Out of reflex he scanned the surroundings with his sixth sense, and nearly had a heart attack.  
The machine he was in had suddenly developed a huge aura, that was nearly palable. Shinji judged it to be nearly as big as that of the monster.'Just how can a robot have an aura' he wondered  
That aside, it's aura didn't have a concentrated sphere like the other. That explained the ridiculuosly huge power cord that was attached to his back.   
Just how was he supposed to fight, if something like that was cutting down on his agility?  
  
Shinji was interrupted from further observation by Dr. Akagi's voice.  
"Shinji? Do you feel all right?"  
  
"Yeah. I feel a bit out of place, like I'm the EVA or somthing, but there aren't any other ill effects."  
  
He saw Ristuko nod and then she asked somebody how high his sync ratio was.  
  
"That can't be" came a techs voice "It's over 60 percent!"  
  
Misato whirled around  
"What? 60 percent? let me see that... Oh damn, it's true."  
  
Shinji didn't know what they were talking about, but jugding from their reactions his performence was very good. Instead he focused inward again. he wanted to know what was going on.   
That was when he saw it. His power was seeping out, slowly, but it was. Something was using it. But what? Shinji suddenly had a vague idea what they meant by linking. It seemed to involve his power somehow. Maybe that was what made him able to pilot that thing, and others not?  
'If that is the chase then I should be able to move this thing somehow, but how?'  
  
His further musings were again interrupted by Dr. Akagi.  
"Okay Shinji, everything is allright. Now I'm going to instruct you on piloting. First, try to move your arm."  
  
Shinji raised an eyebrow. She called that instructing, he knew he had to move that thing himself.  
"And just how, pray tell, am I going to do that?"  
  
"Just think to move your on arm. That should do."  
  
Shinji affirmad that and concentrated, willing his, or rather EVA's arm to move.  
  
Misato gasped as she saw the right purple armored arm of EVA 01 move upward until it was in front of it's face. The robot looked like it was examining his hand curiously.  
"Incredible..." She heard Shinji whisper over the com-link, and all she could do was agrre with him.  
"Just how is that possible. The first child needed months just to sync with her EVA and he's just moving his arm around with the first try!"   
  
Ritsuko just shrugged  
"He's a natural, that's all.Maybe we really have a chance to win this one." Then addressing Shinji she said :" We will try walking once you're on the surface. Now, we will unlock the safety mountings."  
  
Moments later EVA 01 was free from his cage and Shinji was standing on his own, still wondering about all of this.  
"Move Unit 01 to catapult 3!" he heard Misato order and he was moving again.  
Once his EVA was locked into place he was shot to the surface, his innards pressed together by 10 g.  
At first Shinji felt like he was being pressed into a compact little box. His stomach lurched, prostesting at the sudden movement, and his head was swimming slightly.  
Then he reached the surface and slammed into another set of safety mountings so he wouldn't fly out into the open, free to be shot like a bird.  
His shoulders still protested slightly, as did his stomach as he slammed into them.  
"Say, Ain't there a better way to come up here? I feel like somebody tried to stuff me into a tin of Thunafish."  
  
Instantly Misato was heard again.  
"Shinji, stop whining! Instead try to concentrate on walking. We have to get you acquainted with piltoing EVA before you can fight."  
  
Shinji decided to do what was asked of him. After all, what didn't one do to safe the world?  
  
In the control room everybody gasped as EVA 01 made his first step, and then another. The joy dind't last long as the purple robot tripped over his own feet on the third step.  
A rather frustrated 'fuck' was heard over the com-link to EVA-01.  
  
There was another problem though. The angel, which was up to this point ignorant of the EVA's presence had heard the loud thud it's landing made, and set out to elimimante this new threat.  
  
Shinji struggled with the controls as he tried to get back to his feet. After a few failed tries he managed to get up, just in time to see the monstrosity he saw a few hours prior, charging at him.  
He felt panic welling up in him, knowing he wasn't really up to this, but squashed it with all his will. He could do this!  
  
When the angel was nearly on top of him, Shinji threw himself to the side. This time he got up instantly, if a bit shaky, and charged at his seemingly confused quarry's undefended back.   
He drew his right arm back clumsily and threw a punch into it's back.  
The moment his fist connected he felt the angel's hide give a bit.  
Then his opponent whirled around and knocked him into the head with one of it's frail appendages.   
Not one to be distracted easily Shinji retaliated with a kick, sending the monster flying.  
His attack was shrugged of again and Shinji was starting to get annoyed. He was sure that kick did some damage, but it was gone the next moment.  
'Time to call in some help'   
"Misato, Does this thing have any weapons?. I don't think I will get very far with just punching and kicking that bastard."  
  
"Do you see that button on the left control stick? Press it and a knife will pop out form your upper shoulder."  
  
Shinji didn't waste time to speak more and simply pressed the button.  
Moments later he had the prog-knife in hand. It was giving of a low hum and was glowing.  
"Now that's more like it!" He crowed while turning the kife in 'his' hands to get a better feeling.  
  
All to soon Shinji was once again attacked by the angel.   
This time however, the bastard simply blasted at him.   
The 14 year old didn't manage to completely evade the energy spike and it grazed his right side, causing him to grimace in slight pain.  
'What the hell' he thought in disgust 'These things work with feedback? Are these Freaks crazy, not to tell me something like that? I think I will have a long talk with them later, but for now...'  
  
************************  
  
Down in Ikari Gendo's office the supreme commander of NERV was watching his only child fighting a terrible monster with an expressionless face. Next to him his trusted second-in-command Kozo Fuyutski stood, watching as well. The otherwise dark office was tinted in flickering light from the screen, giving it a surreal feeling. The room was only filled with the sounds coming over the viedo feed until Fuyutski spoke.  
"Your son is quite good, isn't he. Quite a suprise I must say."  
  
Gendo allowed himself a small, if cold, smile.  
"That is right. He is more than I expected him to be. It seems he pulled through quite well and will make a good addition to my plans."  
  
Fuyutski shook his head slightly. The man was thinking of his own son as some subordinate he could do with as he pleased.  
"I just hope he won't turn against us. We need him, you know?"  
  
Ikari turned his head to the side, his glasses glinting.  
"Even if the Third Child is going to turn against me, I have means to make him do my bidding." He said with confidence.  
  
Kozo wasn't as confident. He knew NERV had a lot of ways to get someone to do something, but the commander's son seemed like someone who only did what he really wanted.  
'I hope your means are enough Gendo....' At the same time another part of his mind silently hoped Shinji would go up against his father. The man needed someone to pull him down to earth again, but Kozo knew he couldn't do that.  
  
They both sat in silence again, watching the battle proceed. Right now Shinji was slicing away at the angel without much results.  
  
*************************  
  
Shinji was starting to get really annoyed. This bastard just wouldn't die. The new pilot now had the hang of piloting, but he still wasn't able to bring his enemy down. The fucker healed most of his wounds instantly. A new tactic was needed now, but what?  
  
As he was forced to dogde once again, an idea sprang to mind. If he was right this thing was powered by that red core in his torso.   
It would be very risky to try. If his assumption was wrong it would mean 'goodbye Shinji'. At this close proximity he wouldn't be able to dodge a blast or evade any blows from his opponent, especially with the power-cord impeding his movements, so that had to go. Dr. Akagi had told him he would only have a minute power left after that, so he had to move fast.  
'Well, here goes nothing!'   
  
*************************  
  
In the command cneter everybody was nervous as hell. The battle was nearing it's 20 minute and their pilot still hadn't managed to kill their enemy.  
However, this all changed suddenly as the pilot reached behind his EVA and disengaged the umbilincal-cord.  
Everybody gasped. Now he would only have 60 to fight, before his power ran out.  
  
Misato was just about to pull her hair out. She took the nearest micro and screamed in.  
"Shinji, whatthe hell are you doing? You have to put the umbilincal-cord back on!"  
  
The only response she got was a grumpy 'I'm going to do this my way, or I don't do it at all, okay?' then the link was disconnected, leaving her to stare at the remainder of the battle.  
  
**************************  
  
Shinji pulled all his determination in and stormed forth. The angel wasn't used to a frontal attack from his quarry and stood wondering, until his enemy made his move and rammed the prog-knife into it's core.   
  
The entity known as Sachiel hadn't thought his weakness would be discovered that fast. However, it wouldn't give up his quest. It was clear it would die, but not without taking the one who killed it with it.   
Already his energies were waning so it pulled his aggressor into a tight hug with his remaining power and initiated his self-destruction.  
  
Shinji wanted to rejoice as he rammed his knife into the perplexed angel. With his sixth sense he already felt his enemy's power waning.  
He was a bit suprised to find himself wrapped up inside the embrace of his enemy. What was going on?   
That was when he noticed a massive power build-up in the angel's aura. He didn't know what was to come, but he doubted it would be very good. With all his EVA's might he tried to free himself, his movents almost frantic as the energy was climbing ever higher in mere seconds.  
His heart was racing now and his only thought was to get out of this death-trap, his opponent was self-destructing!  
Then Shinji's vain attempts to escape ceased as his world went white........  
  
  
END chapter 2  
  
**************************  
  
(1) Remember Shinji can boast his strenght and speed to incredible levels with his powers, even if only temporary  
  
(2) Imagine yourself (a 29 year old) being teased by a 14 year old that you liked him: You would be emberassed too!  
  
author's notes:  
Peh, thought I would never finish that. It has almost been three weeks since my last update, but finally chapter 2 is here. I changed my mind and didn't use it too much to explain about Shinji's earlier live. Instead I plan on inserting a few flashbacks every now and then to explain his time at the compound better. It's also quite possible that some friends and enemies from his past will crop up over time.  
However, I don'T plan on making this a crossover (for now anyways).  
  
Some of you might also wonder: What's so different about this timeline than the original?  
Well, all I can say is, that it takes time for a charakter to affect his surroundings, and Shinji was only there a day. Be assured there WILL be changes that mess up the original quite well. For example: Imagine how Asuka will react to somebody who doesn't bow to her?  
  
Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. flames welcome, as long as they give me something to work with.You want to contact me? My E-mail is master_meister@gmx.de. I'm still searching prereaders you know?  
  
Chapter 3 will be out in 1-2 months.  
  
Till next time, mastermage ..... 


	3. WOTW3 A new home

Way of the warrior  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of it's characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.  
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.  
So, please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.  
  
Chapter 3 - A new home  
  
Tokyo 3 NERV hospital - 1 day after the battle  
  
Shinji awoke to a splitting headache that was threatening to burst his skull open. Everything was shrouded into a heavy mist and his brain felt frazzled.  
'What happened this time? Did Mitsune-sensei hit me in the head again?'  
Then he managed to pry his eyes open and frowned.  
Something wasn't right. This wasn't the ceiling of his room, or that of the hospital. In fact, Shinji was sure, he had never seen that ceiling in his whole life.  
Then it hit him like a freight-train: He wasn't on the compound anymore. He had travelled to Tokyo 3 to meet his father, and then he had to fight some abomination from hell.  
His frown deepened even more. He was lying in a hospital bed, that meant the fight hadn't gone satisfactory.  
He tried to recall the last seconds of the fight.  
'Ok lets see, I rammed my knife into it's core and then it self-destructed and I didn't manage to get away.'  
Not one to easily accept defeat or even a tie Shinji analysed the fight and came to a horrible realization: he made a grave mistake.   
'God if I don't kill myself for my stupidity Mitsune-sensei probably will'  
Right now Shinji wanted to slam his head into the nearest wall, but opted against it since he hurt too much. He could always do that later.  
His mistake was rather simple: In all his fights ever since he had discovered his powers he had relied on his inhuman strength and speed to overcome opponents with attacks that would be suicidal for anybody else. He had done the same here, but forgot one thing: His power didn't work on his EVA and he was therefore not stronger than his opponent.  
Only now did he realize how much he had come to rely on his superior speed and strength. That wouldn't help him very much in these kind of battles. His frustration over the loss forgotten Shinji decided to get the best teacher his father could get him to up on his training.   
It wouldn't do for him to get killed, after all. Although he hoped the teacher wouldn't be as brutal as Mitsune-sensei could be. Shinji still remembered one eye-opening sparring-session with her in particular....  
  
*****************************************  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
2 months had gone by since Shinji started living on the compound up till now and he had enjoyed every minute of it. Heck, in his opinion his life couldn't get much better. He had a friend who was interested in music and fighting just like him, a place to call home and all the food he wanted. There couldn't be that much more, right?   
  
Especially his sparring sessions with Mitsune-sensei were always very exhilarating and Shinji found himself liking the regal woman very much, even though she was rather brutal when somebody didn't perform good enough or disregarded her teachings.  
However, that wasn't his concern, because he always wanted to learn more and he had the ability needed to make a good impression.  
  
The small boy was currently walking towards the training hall. Training was to begin in 5 minutes and it wouldn't do to be late. Mitsune-sensei wanted her students to be on time.  
He was understandably surprised when there wasn't anybody in the dojo already. Normally 5 others were in his training unit and usually he was the last one to come.  
Maybe Mitsune-sensei decided to change the appointed time for training and nobody told him? It was best to search for them.  
  
He was just about to leave again, when a voice stopped him cold.  
  
"Shinji-kun. I want to talk with you."  
  
He didn't like the sound of that, not at all. It was Mitsune-sensei's voice. That he was sure of. The tone she used, however, made him shiver involuntary. It was her 'You will listen to me very good or you won't like the consequences if you don't' tone of voice. Usually it was followed by a thorough beating for the one spoken to, no matter what he did.  
  
Shinji gulped before he turned around.  
'This is going to be very unpleasant'  
When he turned to face her, the woman's face didn't betray any emotion, but thanks to his sixth sense the child could tell she was determined. There were other emotions like curiosity, if he was right, but determination was dominating, and very much at that. Shinji winced again and added 'very very very unpleasant'.  
Her lustrous black hair was bound into a ponytail and she wore her training gi. That could only mean she planned on doing some serious fighting. Shinji's heart was starting to beat faster, but he held it down. It was best to keep cool. Control, always think control. Mitsune-sensei always told him that,  
Non-the-less his voice held a slight shiver as he spoke to his teacher.  
"What did you want to talk about sensei?"  
  
"I have watched you the last months and to put it simply, I don't know what to make of you. I know you're built very well for someone your age, but you can't be that strong. Tell me what makes you tough enough to win fight you shouldn't be able to win Student!"  
  
Normally Shinji wouldn't have answered a question like that. But he liked his body with all appendages on, so it was a good idea to answer.  
"I don't know why I can do what I can do sensei. The first time I noticed that something was different about me was when I started to 'feel' emotions from others. I don't know why or how, but this power has gotten stronger, and now I'm able to boast my body's strength with it."  
  
Minako raised an eyebrow and gave him a penetrating look  
"That is all?"  
  
Shinji knew she wanted to hear more, but he didn't know what else to say.  
"Yes sensei. I know it sounds like I'm crazy, but it's true."   
  
She nodded in agreement and then she was in his face, their noses only inches away. her voice was only a whisper, but it was still hard as steel and crystal clear for Shinji.  
"I will believe you for now, but I will tell you this student: Learn to control this power of yours with all your being. If what you say is true you are going to be very strong, strong enough to kill somebody in only a moment of inattention. Promise me to keep yourself under control always and everywhere. Do you understand?"  
  
Shinji nodded his head in shock. It wasn't so much what she spoke, but how. Up till now his sensei had always been pleasant or strict. But never in his live had he seen her so.... haunted. She looked almost ready to cry. Something must have happened, and it seemed to involve what she said. And judging from her reaction it was very important. Nothing had managed to shake Mitsune-sensei up that badly before, so it had to be important.   
That moment he made a promise: He wouldn't lose control, never,   
if not for himself, then for Mitsune sensei. Anything hat could shake her up that bad shouldn't happen again, because he was sure he couldn't bear it, whatever it was.  
"I hereby swear I will never lose control of myself in any situation!"  
  
A small smile tugged at her lips and Shinji felt her spirits lift slightly.  
"Good. I will hold you to that promise. Now that it's out of the way, something else: You have to stop using your power constantly. You can make up a lot of skill that way and so you won't learn new moves very fast. That wouldn't be that much of a problem, but you may find yourself in a situation sometime when you can't access your power, then you have to rely on your skill only. And since I want my students prepared for every possible situation we have to work on your skill without your power. So from now on, you are only to access your powers in a real fight or tournament, nowhere else! Understand?"  
  
Shinji nodded, he could live with that. If his sensei said it was best, it probably was.   
Then he suddenly had to roll to the side as his sensei struck out with a foot.  
"And remember, don't use your power" She looked like the cat that ate the canary.  
Shinji learned to hate that look very soon.  
  
The next half hour is better not to be described. Suffice to say, Shinji stood little chance and ended up in bed for 3 days.  
  
FLASHBACK END  
  
****************************************  
  
Shinji winced again at the memory. That had hurt a lot. Only two years later did he find out why the woman was so insistent on them learning to control themselves, and especially him.   
It seemed someone she loved very much died because of an accident involving martial arts. Whom or how, nobody was sure, since she never talked about it.   
  
Finally coming out of his past memories Shinji decided to make a quick check-up on his body.  
With slight dismay he noted that nothing was seriously damaged even though he was in the middle of that blast! He only had a few bruises and swellings strewn loosely over his body.  
Deciding his body was well enough to sit up he promptly did just that.  
A wave of nauseousness immediately befell him and he gritted his teeth to fight it. His head was feeling like a herd of elephants ran through it. After waiting a moment he felt good enough to stand. The hard, tiled floor felt cold on his feet, but he ignored it, the draft he felt on his backside was more important. He was probably looking like a fool right now with that hospital-gown. He made his way to the stool that was located in the far corner of the room where a pair of trousers and a shirt were draped over.  
  
After five minutes of struggling he managed to put them on. he was now once again clad in a white shirt that had the name of his dojo printed on it in an artful way. The 'Lee-dojo' was named after Masaru Lee, the administrator and owner of the compound, who also founded it 20 years back.   
His trousers were baggy to allow movement and held in simple black.  
  
Not wanting to waste his time standing around Shinji decided to find someone who could tell him where he was and how he could get a hold of Misato or Dr. Akagi. He didn't feel like speaking with his father right now. The bastard was only good for grating on his nerves anyway.  
  
His search lasted exactly 5 seconds, because the moment he reached the door someone opened it from outside. He was greeted by the sight of Misato, who was wearing the same clothing as the day before.  
  
"Why, hello Shinji. I was just about to see how you're doing."  
  
"Hello Misato-san. Thank you for your concern."  
  
"No problem. Now, what were you doing anyway? Not sneaking out, were you?"  
  
"Actually I wanted to find you, but that problem has already been solved. I wanted to know where I'm going to be living. Can you help me there?"  
  
"What do you mean? Aren't you going to live with your father?"  
  
Shinji's face turned sour at the mention of his father.  
"No, thank you. I try to spent as little time as possible with him. When coming here I had at least some hope he was an okay person, but after yesterday I'm pretty sure I would kill him if we lived in the same house. So no, I won't be living with him."  
  
Misato winced.   
'Note to self: Do not speak about his father'  
To Shinji she said :"Okay. I will just make a quick phone call, then we should know what is planned for your living quarters."  
  
********************************  
  
5 minutes later found Misato ranting at somebody at the other end of her cell phone for all she was worth. Shinji standing next to her felt very sorry for the poor sap.  
"What do you mean an apartment is ready for him???? You expect a 14 year old to live by himself? Listen here buddy, you can cancel the apartment. The boy is going to live with me. Have a nice day!"  
  
'But mam we can't....' The rest of the poor sap's excuse was cut off as Misato slammed the phone shut.  
"So, what do you think Shinji. You wanna live with me or alone?"  
  
Shinji sighed heavily. Sometimes Misato could be quite the hothead. A quality he found to be both interesting and annoying.  
"Actually alone would have been nice. But since you already told him I'm going to live with you we might as well do it. Just remember to ask me for my opinion next time. I don't like it when people decide my life for me."  
  
Misato, now a little cooled down, dialed another number on her phone,  
leaving Shinji to wonder what that was about now.  
  
'Doctor Akagi here' came the answer from the other end  
  
"Hello Rits.It's me, Misato. I have to tell you something."  
  
Ristuko was obviously annoyed, judging from her tonefall.  
'Oh? And what is it? Do you have a new boyfriend again? Or did you already marry your man this time?'  
  
"Rits, come on. Stay serious for a minute okay. I just discovered that you planned for Shinji to live on his own. I have changed that, so now he is going to live with me, just so you know where he is. Okay?"  
  
'Why Misato' Misato hated that new mischievous edge that crept into Ritsuko's voice. It usually meant she was going to be teased by her.  
'You don't plan to seduce him, do you? Not that I can't understand you. He is built quite well for his age after all'  
  
As Misato suddenly made a good imitation of a kettle, with smoke coming out of her ears, Shinji wondered if it wasn't better to run for his life. His new self-proclaimed guardian was scary like this!  
  
"Ritsuko!" Misato screamed, clearly indignant "What do you think I am? A little whore? I wouldn't do that. You should know that as well as I!"  
  
'Whatever' said Ritsuko dimissivly 'Just keep your hands off of him and try not to get him drunk with all that beer at your house. I have other thigs to take care of for now. Ciao!' And the line went dead.  
  
'That woman! Sometimes I really want to strangle her. Who does she think she is, a saint?'  
"Well. everything is cleared up now. Lets go."  
  
******************************   
  
Sometime later Misato and Shinji were standing in front of an ordinary door in an ordinary apartment building.   
After 20 minutes expert driving on Misato's part the duo had arrived at a brand new apartment building. It was made only for NERV-employeers.  
Right now it was still empty save for them.  
  
"I just moved in myself so it's still a little messy." Misato said, as she turned the lock around. She opened the door so Shinji was able to move in first. He shrugged, it coudln't be that bad.  
  
As he stepped into the apartment Shinji nearly had a heart-attack.  
'Did she just say a LITTLE messy? When this is a little messy in her opinion I don't want to know what it means to be really messy.'  
Indeed Shinji didn't exaggerate one bit when thinking along these lines.  
Next to the door a bunch of chests and crates was standing, still mostly unopened, he could excuse that. The rest was another story altogether.  
beer cans were littered everywhere and clothing, worn judging from its looks, was scattered on the floor, closets, couch and even the TV.   
Shinji ventured deeper into this dump to find the kitchen table full of beer as well. various closets where stadning open, revealing.. nothing, no cooking utensils or anything edible.  
  
"Welcome to your new home Shinji" Came Misato's cheerful voice from behind.  
  
'Right'he thought dryly. 'I would call this a dump, not a home. We have to do some serious cleaning here.'  
As he turned to Misato, who was already taking a beer out of the fridge he was trying very hard to keep the twitching of his right eyebrow down. Shinji wasn't that much of an orderly freak, but this was a bit over the top, so you have to give him some credit that his next word weren't any harsher.  
"Misato-san" he said as calm as possible "You are a total slob, do you know that?"  
  
Hearing his voice, Misato, who was just about to take a swing of her beer gave an intelligible 'huh?', causing Shinji to sweatdrop. Surely nobody could be THAT bad?  
  
  
'Shinji, you will not strangle her, you're a guest in her 'home' after all. Do not even think about it. It may be satisfying, but you have to keep control, you promised!'  
Misato took another gulp.  
'Sometims I hate that promise I made back then.....'  
"Misato-san, will you leave your beer alone for a moment?"  
  
Another 'huh?' was his response and Shinji had enough.  
He walked over to her, and before she could blink her can of beer was gone.  
"Will you listen to me for a moment!"  
  
Misato only looked at him suspicious  
"What did you do with my beer?"  
  
"I did nothing with your beer, I don't drink after all. I will give it back if you listen for a moment."  
  
"What is it Shinji?"  
  
'Oh my god, she's actually listening!'  
"I have said earlier that you are a total slob. We have to do something to get this apartment back into shape. And I won't do that alone."  
  
Misato grinned at him stupidely, totally ignoring his insult.  
Out of nowhere she pulled a big houseplan for the week and showed it to him before rolling it out on the table, knocking over a few empty beer in the process.  
"I have already thought about that. We will play siccor, paper, stone to decide how to distribute the chores among us. Okay? I will start."  
  
"tsk, tsk, tsk. You're doing it again Misato. I didn't agree to play anything, did I? We both know you're doing this because you are very good at this game. I, for one, am not. We will simply distribute the chores in equal parts. Heck, I'll even do a day more. meaning you do the chores on only 3 days, I on 4."  
  
"Now Shinji, this is my home and I say we play for it."  
  
"Very well Misato-san, if you see it like that I will live on my own. I'm not here to clean up after a slob all the time. Have a nice day"  
Shinji said as he was already walking out the door in a disinterested manner.  
  
"Wait! we will do it your way ok?" Came Misato's slightly desperate cry.  
  
His back still turned to her Shinji allowed a small smile to cross his lips, unseen by his new roommate.  
'Hook, line and sinker. Seems like the lovely captain isn't that clever or simply in desperate need of some company' He thought to himself, happy his bait worked.  
"Very well, I will stay."  
  
'Thank god!' was the dominating thought in Misato's head. She really didn't want to live alone aigin. It would be nice to have somebody to talk to sometime. The clean up duty simply was a nice, if not fully satisfying, boon. She could live with three days of housework a week.  
"Come on, I'll show you to your new room." A quick sniff in his direction."And after that you should take a shower. You're still smelling like hospital."  
  
Shinji shrugged, He wanted to take a shower anyway.  
"I will do that, but first my room."  
  
"This way." Misato walked down the small corridor to the left side of the living room until they reached the last of two doors on the other side. She opened it and made a grande gesture  
"This is your new room. Hope you like it!"  
  
The room itself was nothing special. With 5 at 4 meters it was nearly twice his old room's size. The bed was in the right corner on the backwall. A drawer and closet on the opposite wall and a desk at the feet of the bed. No plants, no posters, nothing, just a bare room with no individual touches.   
  
It was exactly Shinji's taste. Safe for his throphies everything was as it had to be.  
  
"I know it's still bare, but you can give it your touch quite easily."  
  
"Don't worry, I like it. This is just my taste."  
  
*****************************  
  
5 minutes later  
  
Misato was sitting in the living room to ponder the recent events of her live and of course to drink some beer.  
Her new roommate was currently taking a shower. Curiously she seemed to have forgotten something important...  
'Nah, if it is, it will come back to me eventually.'  
  
"WAARK" Came pen-pen's loud squawk from the shower, followed by an almost inaudible "What the hell" from Shinji.  
  
Misato sweatdropped.   
'Thats what I had forgotten. Pen-Pen is usually taking a shower around this time'  
  
Only seconds later a nearly naked Shinji, who was only covered by a towel, came in and looked at her crossly.  
"Misato, there is a fluffy something 'warking' around and taking a shower in your apartment."  
  
"Yeah, right. That would be my other roommate. His name is Pen-Pen and he's a warm water penguin. Sorry, I kinda forgot to tell you."  
  
That moment the bird in question came walking in, a towel over his shoulder. Then the bird came up to Shinji and gave another indignant 'Wark' before it hammered its peak against his shin.  
  
"Owww!!! You stupid bird, will you stop it already! Ow.. ow..Ow...."  
All this jumping around wasn't very good for his towel and it fell of, giving Misato quite a view to enjoy.  
the bird simply turned around and walked up to the fridge. He opened a small door and jumped in, disappearing from view.  
  
"Ah damn, is he always like that?"  
  
Misato shook her head, trying to contain her laugher and the blush creeping to her face. Damn, He was built very well in every aspect!  
"No, he just doesn't like interruptions when bathing or showering."  
Then as casual as possible she added.  
"Oh, and I think you should cover yourself up Shinji, it ain't right to run around naked before a lady."   
  
"Okay I'll remember that." He said still keeping cool, until the second part Misato said registered. He looked down to see his manhood in plain view, causing him to rattle of a few explicit curses in his head.  
On the outside he tried to stay cool, but succeeded only partly. He picked up his towel with slow deliberate motions, not rushing anything. His face, however, still showed his embarrassment quite clearly.  
"If you will excuse me." He choked out and left.  
  
When he was in the shower again he banged his head against the wall.  
'Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Why do you get all worked up? Nothing happened. She saw you naked, so what?' He berated himself.  
  
Another part of him, even if it was a lot smaller defended himself  
'So? You've never been in such a situation before. Everybody can have a slip up every now and then, even you! Next time you'll do better!`  
  
*******************************  
  
As Shinji walked out of the room Misato burst out laughing.  
'That was fun!.....but something wasn't right. I would have expected him to storm out of the room. If it wasn't for that healthy red his face was I would have thought it didn't bother him at all. That boy is something special I have to admit. Wonder what his next surprise will be......'  
  
********************************   
  
The next morning....  
  
The habitants of Tokyo 3 were still sleeping as it was early in the morning. The same was true for the Katsuragi household, or at least for one of it's occupants.  
  
While Misato was peaceful slumbering away in her bed, her new roommate was already awake, even though it was only 4 in the morning.  
Shinji Ikari simply couldn't sleep anymore. He was used to rising early from the past few years and coupled with sleeping in a new house his body decided it didn't want anymore sleep.   
Shinji dragged himself out of bed with bleary eyes and put on his training clothes. They consisted of a white pair of trousers along with a white button up shirt. Both made of cotton.  
  
It wasn't like he had anything better to do, so he decided to scout out his new hometown while doing his usual morning run. That in mind Shinji took the key Misato had given to him last night and started out the door.  
As he stepped onto the street he inhaled deeply. The air was still chilly and the sun had yet to make an appearance. Not to mention he hated running alone, but Akira wasn't here.  
'Oh well....' he thought resigned, as he jogged into a random direction.  
  
********************************  
  
3 hours later....  
  
Normally Misato wasn't a morning person, but today she made an exception.   
  
Why?   
  
She was in a very good mood. The reason was simple: Today she would be able to get back at her new roommate. She hadn't told him yet, but he had to attend school again. That wouldn't be all that suprising, but his files stated he never was in school and the last four years he had some kind of private tutor.  
'Sending him to school is going to be hard on 'Mr. Know it all'' She thought gleefully as she opened the fridge, still in underwear.  
  
She popped it open and drank it in one gulp.  
"YEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH! That's the way to start the day!" - In his fridge Pen-pen sweatdropped, as he did everyday at this hour.  
  
Misato didn't bother to put anything on, as she started preparing one of the most dreaded things on earth: A self-made meal. Not that she believed that, of course.  
  
While Misato tried to cook, the door opened and Shinji slipped in. He just finished his long walk and was sweaty as hell.  
'Eekks, I really need a shower!'  
As he closed the door, he heard somebody working in the kitchen. Knowing it to be Misato, he decided to greet her.  
  
As he saw her, Misato's back turned to him, his greeting died in his throat, for there stood Misato, half naked. The only thing she was wearing was a bra and panties...... lace panties.   
Shinji tried, he really did, but his eyes simply wouldn't bend to his will, as they roved up and down his new guardians back. Travelling all the way from her shoulders over her shapely backside down her unbelievable long legs.  
  
As Shinji registered what he thought he snapped out of his trance.  
'idiot! Are you crazy? She could be your mother, stop it already'  
He gulped as he tried to calm himself and make a silent retreat; maybe she hadn't heard him....  
  
Misato's hearing, however, was very sharp.   
"Well, hello there Shinji. Breakfast will be ready soon. I would advise you take shower before eating." She greeted him, without turning around.  
  
"Morning Misato-san" He croaked out, his mind still clouded.  
  
Hearing Shinji speaking like that Misato wondered what was wrong and turned around, only to see a sweaty Shinji whose head was as red as a tomato standing in the doorway.  
"Is something wrong Shinji-kun?" She asked concerned.  
  
As Misato turned around, inadvertently giving Shinji an even better view then before, all cohorent thought left his mind.  
All he could do was stutter out an incoherent "Your.. You... Bra...Panties..H-Half naked....." While pointing at her.  
  
Misato raised an eyebrow and looked down at herself .  
'Seems like I forgot to put something on.'   
Looking up again she took note of Shinji's state and started to laugh, which didn't go unnoticed by Shinji, since laughing did wonderous things to her chest.  
  
After a few seconds Misato recovered from her laughing fit enough to think clearly again.  
"Sorry Shinji, I just forgot to put something on. I am not used to having a roommate" 'Although I have to remember that one. It's funny to see him like that'  
  
An answer wasn't coming and Misato noticed that Shinji's eyes were unfocused.  
"Shinji-kun?" She approached him. Then she passed a hand in front of his face.  
  
Suddenly Shinji blinked, coming out of his dreamworld that involved Misato, him and a lot of icecream.  
'What the heck....!' he thought before looking at Misato questionally, trying to avoid looking below her neckline again.  
  
Seeing as she now had his attention Misato spoke again.  
"I said I will put something on Shinji-kun. Be right back!"   
  
Before he could say anything she turned around and walked to her room.  
Finally Shinji gathered his wits enough to go take a shower, all the while berating himself for losing his wits like that, the second time in as many days.  
'What is it with me and women lately?' He wondered to himself.  
It wasn't like he didn't know about sex or anything, but it had to be possible to control his hormones, shouldn't it?  
'Every time I see one of them half naked or the other way around I freak out. Hopefully that's not the chase when they touch me.'  
Shinji shuddered at that thought. That wouldn't do at all. he had to fight the occasional girl in a tournament, after all.  
Heck, some of the best fighters he knew were girls!   
  
The new pilot of Unit one let out a contented sigh as he stepped into the shower, remembering his first near defeat at the hands of a girl. Sure, she had been training longer than him, and it was only sparring, so he hadn't used his powers, but that still was no excuse for nearly losing, he knew that.  
  
Shinji couldn't even remember the devils name, but he had learned a lesson from her: Never be to overconfident, especially when it comes to girls, you might be in for a surprise.  
However, all that still didn't explain why he wasn't able to keep his hormones under control right now...  
So Shinji finished his shower without any new ideas on how to get over his recent problems....  
  
***********************  
  
As Misato walked out of her room, this time fully dressed, she instantly noticed the smoke that was coming from the kitchen.  
Her keen mind needed only fraction of a second to figure out what was wrong.  
'Oh shit! I forgot the toast!'  
  
The only thing her despaired jump to the toaster resulted in were two very black pieces of toast, not something you want to eat for breakfast.  
  
Misato being Misato padded herself on the back and promptly put them onto the plates.  
At her feet Pen-Pen could only feel pity for Shinji Ikari...  
  
It wasn't long before a showered and freshly clothed Shinji walked into the kitchen.  
"So, what's for breakfast Misato-san?"  
  
Misato gave him a brilliant smile as she seated herself.  
"Toast, of course. Take what you want out of the fridge."  
  
Shinji promptly went to the fridge in search of some jam, or meat.  
Somewhere in between all that beer he even found some!  
It was only when he was seated, that Shinji noticed the 'toast' on his plate and gagged.  
'So thats what is smelling burned! ... Somehow I don't feel like eating anymore'  
The 'toast', as Misato referred to the blackened mass on his plate, had more in common with a lump of coal than with something edible.  
Shinji briefly wondered if his new roommate was kidding him, only to see her biting into a black mass, just like his, with a satisfied face.  
Internally Shinji groaned.  
'If she is such a bad cook it's best I take up that chore all week. I don't want to die before turning 15!'   
  
Misato was still chewing contently.  
  
'.....Damn, she must have a stomach that is able to digest toxic waste or something.'  
Gently he pushed his plate away and waited for Misato to finish.  
  
When she had finished eating Misato focused her attention on Shinji, only to see his plate untouched.  
"What's wrong Shinji-kun? Haven't got any hunger"  
  
Shinji put on a serious face.  
"Quite the opposite Misato-san. I just prefer starving to dying because of food poisoning."  
  
"Oh come on, my cooking is not that bad. Just take a bite, it's good."  
She pouted.  
  
'Not that bad, my ass! This is toxic waste nothing more.'  
Of course, Shinji didn't say that out loud.   
"Misato-san, I have a proposition to make. Since your cooking is only edible if your stomach is made of iron, it is best in our best interest if I cook all our meals. You would have to do the laundry in exchange."  
  
Misato, still wondering what was wrong with her cooking, lulled that over. She didn't like cooking very much. Then again, she didn't like doing the laundry as well. Still, it didn't require as much time and therefore was the lesser of two evil, so she agreed readily.  
  
Shinji would have padded himself on his back for saving himself from certain death, but decided against it, since it would probably look silly.  
Instead he stood up and started to clean up the table as Misato took another beer from the fridge.  
She popped it open and her eyes suddenly lit up, just like she found enlightenment from opening that can of beer.  
"..Shinji-kun..." She said in a mischievous tone of voice that made our hero shudder.  
  
'This can't be good' he thought to himself as he turned to face the new bane of his existence.  
  
"I nearly forgot" She continued, now that she had his attention. " You have school today!" That annoying grin she wore was now splitting her face in two.  
  
'So what?' Shinji thought 'That's all? Isn't as bad as I thought'  
He voiced his thoughts.  
  
Misato's grin got even wider than before, if such a thing were possible.  
"I don't think you understand Shinji-kun. You will go to a public school, not be tutored by a private teacher."   
  
Shinji's confused look turned to one of horror. he had heard all kinds of stories from the students that were visiting their dojo regularly and he believed without a doubt he was going to die from boredom in a real school. Tutoring was fine, but school!   
'Very well' Shinji told himself ' Time to pull out all the stops..'  
"N-now Misato-san, why can't we simply get a tutor for me? It wouldn't do for a pilot to be seen in public. What if somebody wants to kill me, you can't afford losing me!"   
He said with his best faked nervous expression.  
  
Misato waggled a finger at him.  
"Don't try that one with me Shinji-kun. You know very well that you can take care of yourself. And if you can't, NERV will always be around. Aside from that, We want you to have some contact with other children your age, to give you at least a semblance of a normal live during your stay here. Now hurry up, we have to get you to school. They should have everything ready by now, according to Ritsuko."  
  
As she dragged him out the door Shinji gave a resigned sigh. This was going to be torture, he just knew it.  
  
Moments later a blue sports car, that still had a lot of dents, was pulling out of its park lot, bringing one Shinji Ikari to the first school day in his live........  
  
**************************   
  
authors notes:  
  
Well, that was a short chapter. I promise to make it longer next time.  
Originally I planned to inlclude Shinji's first schoolday in here.  
However, I decided to put it into chapter 4 along with the next angel!  
Don't know when chapter 4 will be out. Probably a good 6 weeks from now on (exmas suck!).  
Anyway, some of you might wonder: Why a whole chapter for this little bit of actual plot.  
The answer is simple: I wanted to show that Shinji's relationship to Misato is changed when compared to the original timeline. This time its more a sister-brother relationship then mother-son. Reason for this is Shinji's newly grown backbone and his independend-mindedness. However, since his social-skills (especially with girls) are still rather poor there will be a lot of teasing coming his way. He's just responding differently by shooting back more often.  
  
Again I'm asking you to mail me at master_meister@gmx.de if you're interested in pre-reading or want to contact me in private.  
I'm saying this because I could still use a few pre-readers, not out of fun (just so you know).  
  
My rants end here, one more thing: pleeaaaaase review!!!!!!!!! I want as much opinions as possible concerning my fic.  
  
I also want to thank my pre-reader Eva_Fan for his help at correcting my atrocious spelling. 


	4. WOTW4 not so boring schooldaze

Way of the warrior  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.  
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.  
So please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.  
.... Oh, wait a moment, it's only 3 cent now, lost the other one two weeks ago.  
  
Chapter 4 - not so boring school-daze  
  
Tokyo 3 - 3 weeks after Shinji's arrival  
  
Shinji Ikari sighed as he trotted down the street towards another booooooring school-day. It couldn't be said Shinji didn't like school, far from it. In reality he hated it with a passion.   
Not only did he already know most of the things they were going to teach him, but his teacher was a total senile grandpa.   
Everyday for the past to weeks did he repeat the same material over and over again.  
By now Shinji was sure he was able to recite every single sentence his teacher was going to say, which was why he opted for sleeping or reading a book in class instead of listening.  
  
As for Misato's so called social contact, Shinji could only laugh out loud. Up till now he hadn't spoken more then a few words with anybody in his class, not that he minded. Shinji had never been a very social person and was happy with it.  
This left him with more free time then Shinji had a need for and so he tried to find ways to get the days over.   
The synch-tests, which Dr. Akagi seemed obsessed with, were scheduled after school everyday. She said once he learned to properly pilot he they would cut down on them.  
  
However, even with sync-tests he had a lot of time on his hands. He had tried to get his father to give him a teacher for martial arts, but the debate he had with his father still left him with a bitter after-taste.  
Shinji suppressed a grimace as he replayed their first private son-father-meeting in his minds eye.  
  
**********************  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
Shinji hurried through the still unfamiliar halls of NERV HQ in search of his father's office. He had an appointment with him in only 15 minutes and didn't plan on being late.  
He would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if it wasn't so damn real. To think he had to get an appointment to speak with his own father!  
He frowned at that last turn his thoughts took. The man he was going to speak with couldn't be called his father. Maybe the man who gave his semen to create him, but even that was doubtful.   
One thing was for sure though; Gendo Ikari was not his father. He was just a mean bastard whom he had business to do with.  
While puzzling out his relationship with Gendo Ikari Shinji had arrived at his office.  
From the outside it didn't look like much; just a plain steel-door like so many others in NERV.  
Looking onto his watch Shinji noted that he was 2 minutes early.  
He took a deep breath before knocking, knowing full well that even something as simple as asking for a private teacher could become a trip in hell when Gendo Ikari was involved.  
  
Only seconds later the thick steel-door was opened, allowing him entrance.  
As it closed again Shinji felt his hackles rise. His father's office was oozing Menace.  
The room was rather empty, maybe 10 at 10 meters. The only discernable light source was a painting(?) of the tree of live on the ceiling, that casting the room into an eerie red light.  
His father was sitting behind a large mahogany-desk, judging from its color that was standing proudly in the middle of the bare room, moved slightly to the back wall.  
As always his black glasses were on his nose, concealing his eyes and glinting dangerously in the sparse light.  
Not that this was enough, no. He was resting on his elbows, hands folded together in front of his mouth, effectively concealing his every expression, if he had any, that is.  
  
"You wanted to speak with me Pilot Ikari?" His 'father' asked in a cold voice that would have send lesser man running for the hills.  
  
Shinji grounded his teeth together before answering in a calm and equally cold voice.  
"That is correct commander. I have a request, which you might find interesting."  
  
The only indication that he was heard was a slight nod from Gendo.  
"I request for all the pilots to be trained in hand-to-hand-combat by a private teacher."  
Gendo's face was set in stone, and if Shinji hadn't used his power, he wouldn't have had a clue that his father seemed amused by the situation. Although he could care less, as long as he got what he wanted.   
  
"That is not possible. NERV doesn't have unlimited funds and you being here is already costing us sums we haven't planned with."  
  
"It is our goal to defeat the angels, is it not?" Shinji asked. Gendo nodded, so he proceeded.  
"If that is the chase we should always try to find the best ways to defeat them. Additional training should give us an edge in reflexes and overall performance on the battlefield, which is brining us nearer to our goal. As for the money: I have looked up some of the information you have enabled me, and I'm sure that a private teacher is not to expensive, considering his loan would only be a mere fraction of the money needed to run this organization, don't you agree?"  
  
Shinji's arguments were good, he knew that and his father knew that, but Gendo Ikari was something that even good arguments couldn't go up against: He was Shinji's superior and his word was law.  
'Then again' Shinji thought 'His goal is to defeat the angels so it's in his best interest to agree with me'  
  
"No. I will not grant your request." The Commander stated in a collected voice.  
  
Shinji unwillingly narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't adding up here, why would he simply not agree to it if it was in his best interests and the money wasn't an issue?  
"May I ask for you reasons?"  
  
"You do not need my reasons pilot. I think we discussed this issue enough; if you would leave now?"  
  
"Yes sir!" Shinji saluted and turned around, walking out the now open door.  
  
**************************  
  
As the designated pilot of Unit 01 walked out the office, Kozo Fuyutski walked out of the shadows to stand slightly behind Gendo, on his right  
His old wizened face had a thoughtful expression plastered onto it.  
"Do you really think that was a wise move, Gendo? Now he is surely suspicious of your motives."  
  
"He does not matter. Pilot Ikari is merely a pawn and he can do nothing against me. We also have to keep to the schedule. It would not do for our pilots to become to strong. You know that."  
  
Kozo didn't answer, knowing Gendo's opinion to be set in stone, his face graced with a small frown that made his face seem even older.  
'For your own good I hope you are right and your so called pawn will stay where you want him.'  
  
****************************   
  
As the steel-door closed behind his back Shinji narrowed his eyes until they were merely slits.  
Something very fishy was going on here. Normally he would have dismissed his father's action as simple greed, but with the funds NERV had this wasn't an issue. So, what was that about? Surely it wasn't just to spite him, was it?   
Knowing that guessing would lead to nothing Shinji shoved this little tidbit of information into the folder in his head titled 'things I need to check in the future' and let it be for now. He had a lot of time to spy on his father and NERV in the future.  
  
That settled the young pilot made himself on his way home.  
  
FLASHBACK END  
  
****************************  
  
During the meeting with his father Shinji had been tempted to read Gendo's mind, but had quickly discarded that idea. He had only gotten the hang of mind-reading a few months ago and could only read the foremost thoughts in one's mind. That meant he wouldn't have been able to get any relevant information from his father. Aside from that he had been told the one being mind-read could feel it, something Shinji absolutely didn't want since it would alert a lot of people to his abilities. His sensei had always said it was best to have a few aces up one's sleeve in any situation; his abilities were quite an ace in his opinion.   
Normally Shinji wouldn't even think about using this peculiar talent since it wasn't polite to invade others people thoughts. His father, on the other hand, was a heartless bastard and didn't deserve any courtesy on Shinji's part.   
Oh well, it was a lost chase. Right now he didn't have any close friends by with whom he could keep practicing mind-reading. That meant he had to go without mind-reading for the time being.  
  
While pondering the meeting with his father Shinji suddenly had an idea and his face was split by a grin.   
His father said in no uncertain terms he wouldn't give him a martial arts teacher for free, but he didn't say anything about hiring one by himself.  
Shinji knew his father wasn't going to like that, but he couldn't do anything about it, since it had nothing to do with NERV and it would be too obvious he had something else planned.  
  
Just as Shinji finished his thoughts he set foot into the classroom.  
Not knowing what to do, he simply took his seat and waited patiently for his teacher to arrive, fully prepared for another boring lesson.  
  
As the elder sensei arrived the class-president Hikari Horaki followed through the usual 'stand-bow-sit'-routine and the lesson proceeded.  
  
As it was the elder sensei droned on about second impact yet again and soon nobody listened to him.  
Early on Shinji had observed the other children in his class using the laptops to write private messages in class. It didn't take long for most of them to do just that once again.  
  
And as usual the only one still listening was Hikari Horaki, although she probably only did it because of her position, in a way Shinji pitied her.  
  
The other person that wasn't engaging in any activity aside from listening to the sensei droning was Rei Ayanami, the mysterious first child.  
Shinji wasn't able to see her face, but judging from the angle her head was turned, she wasn't listening either, just staring out the window as she had the last three days ever since she came to school again.  
To say the girl was an enigma wouldn't even come close to the truth.  
She was said to be working with him, but he knew next to nothing about her. No, scratch that, he knew nothing about her.  
  
Up to that point Shinji hadn't talked with her and even though he didn't want to admit it to himself, the he knew the reason: She made him uneasy, which Shinji couldn't stand. Every time he gazed at her eyes, her eyes...these ruby orbs of fire; he couldn't help but shudder.  
Even when the albino girl wasn't looking at him he still felt like her eyes where piercing him to his very soul.  
Still... he felt drawn to her for some inexplicable reason. It wasn't physical attraction, that he was sure of, not that Rei was something to sneeze at. In truth she had an angelic face framed with an unruly mob of blue hair that was oddly fitting for her and a body to die for. There was one thing though, that held boys at bay: her expression. The otherwise beautiful girl was always wearing this stony and cool expression, no matter what. In all his time Shinji hadn't seen her smile or frown, or anything for that matter, once. It was quite disturbing and Shinji had already resolved to shed some light into the mystery that was Rei Ayanami. Well, that and get her to smile..... once he got the courage to talk to her.  
  
  
Shinji was torn from his contemplation of the strange girl when his laptop began flashing, indicating he got a message.  
'Huh? Who would send me a message?' he wondered while accepting the call.  
  
Are you really the pilot?  
  
Shinji stared at the screen long and hard. Was it wise to answer that one with a positive 'Yes'?  
Somehow he doubted it, but then again, they would probably find out eventually and what harm could possibly be done if they knew?  
His decision made Shinji typed his answer.  
  
YES  
  
The moment he hit the Enter-button all a loud 'WHAATTTT!!!!!!' echoed throughout the class, and before he knew it Shinji was surrounded by classmates from all sides, all of them asking questions, which had the effect of him not understanding a word they said.  
  
After they were still blabbering a good minute later, Shinji had enough.  
"Will you all just clam down!" he said in a stony voice that cut through their blabbering like a knife and effectively silenced the room.  
Out of his eyes Shinji saw the sensei still hadn't noticed and kept talking.  
"Okaaaaaay.....Now that I have you attention, I am the pilot of that robot. Yes. But no, I can't answer any questions you have because I don't have clue how it works. If you have questions not concerning any specifications, then ask them..." he held up his hand to stop any tumult "...one at a time!"  
  
Some boy made the start:" How have you become pilot?"  
  
"Not a clue. My father said come here and stuffed me into the robot. That's about it."  
  
"Does it have any special weapons?"  
  
"No, as far as I know it only as a measly knife for fighting, not exactly a special weapon."  
  
And the questions kept coming till lunch finally came around, which was a great relive for Shinji, who didn't waste any time to bolt from the room to evade further questions.  
  
**********************  
  
As Toji Suzuhura watched the newly revealed pilot retreating back he shook his head. It really hadn't looked like the Ikari-boy liked the attention he got, which was the reason he had waited till lunch to ask him a few questions himself, and not to forget thank him.  
He turned to his fellow-classmate and friend Kensuke Aida.  
"Come on, I don't want to lose him."  
  
Kensuke gave his big friend an annoyed look.  
"Oh come on now. Will you come down from this trip of yours for now? Ain't it enough he's the new pilot? The chance of him being this ass-kicking martial artist you make him out to be is quite slim."  
  
Toji simply ignored his complaints and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along.  
"Will you stop whining already? I'm 100 percent sure it's him, I even looked at my last volume of 'tournament fighter's supreme' to make sure. They said he won the last 3 championships in Japan in his age-group and I know for sure they mentioned his name was Shinji Ikari. So let's go already!"  
  
When Toji was already out the door Kensuke stopped his futile resistance and let himself be dragged along. Maybe he could get some more information out of the pilot this way.  
  
**************************  
  
Shinji was standing on the roof of his school looking out over the yard with a thoughtful look on his face. It had been three weeks already, and his live had settled into some kind of routine, if piloting a giant Robot for training could be considered routine anyway.  
He considered the other children milling about the yard, content with their lives and without a care in the world they seemed. He knew that wasn't true, as everybody had problems, but lately his own problems had evolved to a state where he found himself unable to fully grasp their importance.   
  
The scene in the classroom made one thing clear though, he was important now. Well, maybe not him, but his work.   
  
Only now did he realize the fate of this whole city, maybe even the world was ultimately resting on his shoulders. His head hurt when he thought about it, nobody should have so much responsibility or power. It was a frightening concept he had it, really.  
Which was the reason Shinji quickly stopped that train of thought; he had enough trouble dealing with all this without thinking about it.   
  
Shinji let his mind drift, not thinking about anything in particular and staring off into space.  
  
"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" A gruff voice asked from behind, causing Shinji to frown. Hopefully the person behind him didn't want to talk with him about EVA; it was starting to grate on his nerves.  
  
Shinji made sure to smooth out his features before turning around.  
He came face to face with two of his classmates. The one with the camera seemed to be some kind of military otaku, while the other one had yet to ask him a single question.  
"Depends, what do you want?" Best to get straight to the point.  
  
Toji for his part didn't know how to say this right. He always had problems with words, not to mention that thanking somebody wasn't one of his strong points either.  
"Hello. My name's Toji Suzuhura and this is Kensuke Aida. I...well... I wanted to thank you... for piloting you know? Me and my sister were still on the streets when you started fighting with that thing, thought we would die or something... so yeah…I wanted you to know I'm really grateful you didn't make a mess out there.."  
  
When Toji paused Shinji smiled slightly, although he could tell the other boy wanted to say something else from his aura.  
"Well, thanks I guess. So far you're the first one to actually express your thanks for me piloting. Although you shouldn't take me for a hero or something, I'm getting something out of this deal as well. But enough of my piloting or EVA, had enough for one day, what else is on your mind?"  
  
Instantly Toji changed from nervous to giddy as he dug in his schoolbag to fish out something. Shinji couldn't make out what it was since Toji was flipping it through rather fast.  
"Ha, here it is!" The boy exclaimed as he held some picture of a fight with some text on the side in front of Shinji's face.  
"I just wanted to know, is that you?" he said, pointing to one of the fighters. Only half of his face was visible.  
  
Shinji raised an eyebrow as he looked over the photo taken from some tournament-fights. He raised an eyebrow; pretty sure somebody should have asked him before they put a picture of him into any kind of magazine, because there on the picture he saw himself fighting against one of many opponents.  
"Yeah, that would be me. Why?"  
  
Kensuke as well as Shinji could both have sworn Toji got a starry gaze for a fraction of a second, but dismissed it as a figment of their imagination.  
"Ah damn, you're one of the coolest fighters on earth! Can I have an autograph from you? I'm into fighting some myself, but nobody ever taught me any real techniques, do you think you can teach me some time?"  
  
Shinij had a sweat drop behind his back. First the class nearly goes berserk because he was pilot and now Toji wanted an autograph because he was some incredible fighter in his opinion.  
'Didn't know I had fans' Shinji thought dryly.  
'Now, what to do with him? He seems like a nice guy, if a bit rough on the edges, and some company would be nice.'  
"The autograph isn't a problem, although I don't understand why you would need one, I'm your classmate now you know? The teaching could be a bit difficult though. I probably can make room a few day a week, but I can't show you that much. Besides, I haven't taught before, so I don't know if I'm any good."  
  
"Um guys?" came Kensuke's voice from the side "Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should get going! Class is starting in a few minutes"  
  
Not wasting anytime the trio made its way down the stairs, Toji still oblivious to his surroundings.  
They had nearly reached the classroom, when a soft voice spoke up behind them:"Pilot Ikari? We are to report to NERV"  
  
The trio jumped into the air at once, all scared out of their wits.  
Shinji was the first to calm down. When turning around the first Child was staring at him with that intense but somehow calm look in place. "Hello Ayanami-san. Did I understand you right? We are to report to NERV?"  
  
"That is correct. An angel is coming, we are needed." That said the mysterious girl turned on her heel and walked away.  
  
Shinji's jaw hit the ground. The girl hadn't shown a trace of emotion when mentioning the attack. How could anybody possibly be so dismissive?  
'Huh angel-attack?' He thought belatedly. 'Surely she is joking right?'.  
  
The blaring klaxons that started up only moments later proved Shinji wrong.  
Shinji swallowed a lump. He came out alright of his first encounter, but he knew it was a close-call.  
With an unsure smile he turned to his compatriots, who were still rooted to the ground.  
"Seems like we have to discuss this one later you two. Have to go!"  
He said, already walking away.  
  
Shinji was nearly around the corner when Toji called out:"Kick this ugly freaks butt Ikari. I wish you luck!"  
The pilot had to smile despite the dire situation. He planned to do just that: Kick some butt!  
  
A little more confident in himself the son of Gendo Ikari walked towards humanity's next challenger.  
  
*********************  
Amidst the city of Tokyo 3 a huge launching pad opened up, allowing the behemoth known as Evangelion Unit 1 passage.  
Inside the pilot grunted as the EVA was suddenly stopped from his ascend.  
'I'll never get used to this' He thought irritated'  
  
As he stood there a com-link opened up, showing Misato.  
"Shinji, go over to your right and take out the assault rifle. You are to try and bring the angel down from a distance this time."  
  
The young pilot shrugged. He may have been a martial artist, but his first experience told him fighting them hand-to-hand was something to be avoided for the sake oh him and his EVA.  
He wiled the giant machine to move over to the weapon-rag and took the rifle, once again marveling at how real it felt to hold. He couldn't feel the texture of the metal, but the weight of the weapon was clearly felt by his nerves.  
  
"Okay, now that you're armed move east, the angel will arrive shortly. Okay, stop here and stay in hiding, we will tell you when to come out."  
  
The next seconds felt like an eternity to Shinji. His mind and body already set to fight for his life time seemed to crawl by at a maddening slow pace.   
  
"Now, Get out of hiding, the angel is directly in front of you."  
  
Shinji didn't bother to answer. In one swift motion he was standing next to the building he was hiding behind a moment before. He focused his cross hairs on the target without thinking, the action almost instinctual from the last weeks training, and fired a quick volley.  
  
High velocity bullets exploded on the angels hide partly hiding it from sight due to the smoke.  
  
Shinji was about to fire again, when he was the smoke, and stopped abruptly.  
'Always have your enemy in sight' came back the words of advice from his training.  
  
Waiting a few seconds fro the smoke to clear completely Shinji looked at the angel a little closer. It had a long and sleek body that was red. On top there was a gigantic head, if it could be called that, which Shinji couldn't describe at all. Only a short ways down lay the core, the angel's weak spot.  
As Shinji examined the last feature of his opponent he shuddered. The angel had two small appendages which elongated into some kind of whip. The tentacles pulsed with an eerie light and somehow Shinji knew it would be a very bad idea to be touched by them in any way.  
He also knew that it would be nearly impossible to dodge both at once for any length of time, having fought against similar weapons already.  
  
The smoke finally dissolved and Shinji gave another volley, which exploded against the angel's hide once again without any effect.  
Although it seemed his second round got the angels attention, as it turned around.  
Shinji swallowed involuntary. 'This is will be very unpleasant'  
  
The next moment the angel dived towards him with incredible speed, surprising Shinji.  
The young pilot barely managed to roll to the side, avoiding the blow.  
His reflexes were dulled though, because he still wasn't used to the EVA entirely, and before he could stand up again, the angel flung him back.  
  
The Shinji landed on the far mountain with a grunt, the force from the landing forcing the breath out of his lungs for a moment.  
"Ah damn! That hurt ...."  
  
Inside the command-center Misato winced as Shinji hit the ground.  
"Umbilical-cord severed. 5 minutes power remaining" and cursed as a technician reported this.  
Then she saw something even more shocking on the screen.  
In between the EVA's monstrous fingers where tow young boys.   
'Idiots! What are they doing out there?'   
  
However, even though they were idiots Misato was not about to let them die.  
"Shinji, can you hear me?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm just a little bit disoriented"  
  
"I want you to open up your entry-plug and take these two guys between your fingers inside!"  
  
Shinji blinked a few times when hearing that. Opening his entry-plug? Guys between his fingers? He looked down to the ground and saw Misato's words confirmed. His jaw fell open when he recognized the cowering boys. It was Toji and Kensuke!  
  
Shinji activated his external speakers while simultaneously opening the plug.  
"What are you two idiots doing out here?" he ranted, clearly pissed someone could be dense enough to do something like this. "I want you to come into my entry-plug. Make it fast; I have an angel to fight!"  
  
**************************  
  
A few minutes earlier  
  
"This is so cool!" Kensuke said while filming the Evangelion as it waited for the angel to make its appearance. Currently he was standing on a mountain a good mile away together with his friend Toji.  
  
Toji stood next to his friend with a frown on his face.  
"I don't know Kensuke. Maybe we should go down to the shelters again; it could get nasty up here."  
  
"Nah, why are you worried? Shinji will take care of it with no problem. Besides, don't you want to see him in action?"  
  
Toji finally conceded to his friend and waited with him.  
  
When the angle hovered into view Kensuke was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "This is sooooooo cooooool!"  
  
Toji rolled his eyes, wondering if his friend's full vocabulary would come back after this was over.  
  
Then everything happened at once. The Evangelion came out of hiding to send a few volleys from its assault-rifle towards the angel. The angel dived forth, and the next thing the two teens saw was the massive form of Unit 01 flying in their direction.  
Realizing they were about to be flattened both were rooted to the ground with fear, unable to move.  
  
'BOOOOOM'  
  
Toji opened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them.   
'I'm still alive!' He thought happily but nonetheless scared to death.  
Several long moments Toji and Kensuke just stood there, unable to comprehend how close they came to dying.  
  
That was when a booming voice was heard from above.  
Both immediately recognized the angry speaker as Shinji.  
  
After he was finished speaking Kensuke looked upwards to see a white tube screwing out of the Evangelion. Even though the Unit was nearly lying on it back the plug still hung a good 2 meters in the air.  
  
Then Shinji appeared out of the hatch, looking as miffed as he sounded.  
"Will you two already move!?! I only have 4 minutes power left"  
  
His outburst was enough to set the duo in motion.  
  
******************************   
  
Shinji was once again sitting inside the entry-plug, his two classmates behind him.  
As the plug filled with LCL Shinji didn't even acknowledge it anymore. He was already concentrating on moving the EVA. With only two minutes left every moment counted if he wanted to finish this one off.  
  
Kensuke and Toji weren't as cool-headed as Shinji when the liquid poured in.  
When Shinji finally noticed their trashing he chuckled.  
"You can breathe this stuff. No need to worry."  
  
Feeling he had said enough Shinji turned around again. The angel was still where it had last been, trashing the city with its tentacles. Shinji still wondered why it hadn't attacked him while his EVA was down, not that he was complaining.  
  
As Shinji got up Misato contacted him once again.  
"Shinji, get to the nearest launching site. We have to get you a new power-cable and get these two out of your plug. Their brainwaves are interfering with your sync-ratio."  
  
Shinji considered this for a moment. She was probably right, but he had a clear shot right now, since the angel had turned its back to him. Then again, she was his superior and since he got money for this it was best to do as she said.  
His decision made Shinji headed to the next launching site and gave a heavy sigh  
'I hate running from a fight, but this ain't some game so I better play save.'   
  
****************************  
  
5 minutes later  
  
Shinji was once again on the surface with a new Umbilical-cord and no passengers. A rather pissed looking Misato had escorted them away once they had arrived in the Geo-front.  
Shinji would have pitied them, but right now he had to worry about himself.  
  
Since bullets weren't working Shinji had abandoned his rifle in favor of the prog-knife. It still irritated him to no end that such a big robot had such a small knife.   
'Oh well, one works with what he has' he though without much enthusiasm.  
  
Unit 01 was slowly creeping towards the angel from behind. Misato had told him to do what was needed to defeat the angel, giving him free reign. Shinji didn't have much of a plan, but he knew he had to cut off these tentacles before he could finish the angel off. Coming from behind gave him the chance to cut one off without fear of retaliation from his adversary.  
  
Shinji finally came within reach. Now he only had to abide his time till he could storm forth to surprise this sucker!  
  
As the angel pulled his right tentacle back to strike again, Unit 01 sprang to its feet and ran full tilt forward, prog-knife held in striking position.  
The tentacle was moving forward again.  
'NOW' Shinji screamed in his head, as he brought down the knife on the tentacle, cleaving through it all the way.  
Shinji rolled forward to avoid a blow from the second tentacle and came to his feet just as the other hit the ground.  
"So, now the odds are even, let's see what you do now!" Shinji growled through his teeth.  
  
In the command-center everyone cheered, happy over this small victory.  
  
The angel lashed out again.  
Shinji grinned. 'Big mistake sucker'  
He dove under the wild swing to come up nearly in front of the angel and rammed the knife through the base of the second tentacle, cutting it off as well.  
'Too easy' He thought, as he reared back his arms and rammed the knife into the now defenseless angel's core.   
As it didn't break he pulled it out, only to ram it in again.  
Sparks were flying as Shinji rammed his knife into the core over and over like a madman until the core stopped pulsing with red light and the second angel died a silent death.  
  
***********************************  
  
Authors notes:  
  
A short chapter this time, I know, but the death of the angel is just so fitting for the final scene, don't you agree?   
The next chapter will be a little bit longer as compensation, promise.  
  
Nothing more to say, aside from the usual:  
I STILL NEED PRE-READERS.  
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW   
Contact me at master_meister@gmx.de if you want to pre-read or want to tell me something in private. 


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